BLVM 
ENTH 

EX    A  I     LIB 

88  f\. .  _y 


RIS 


L.A.A.e 


SYMBOLISM    OF    ANIMALS 
AND    BIRDS 


SYMBOLISM 

OF 

ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS 

REPRESENTED   IN   ENGLISH 
CHURCH     ARCHITECTURE 


nv 
ARTHUR   H.  COLLINS,   M.A. 


NEW    YORK 
McBRIDE,    NAST    cS:    COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


SRLt 
URL 


7 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.      SOURCES  OF  ANIMAL  SYMBOLISM    .             .  1 

II.      THE    APE,    ASS,     BEAVER,     BEAR,     BOAR, 

CAMEL,    DOG,   ELEPHANT   ...  22 

III.  THE    FOX,    GOAT,    HART   AND    ANTELOPE, 

HYENA .45 

IV.  THE    HEDGEHOG,    LAMB,    LION           .             .  61 
V.      THE   OX,   PIG,   PANTHER,   SALAMANDER    .  81 

VI.      THE    SHEEP,    TIGER,    WHALE    AND    FISH, 

WOLF      ......  94 

VII.      THE  CHARADRIUS,  COCK  AND  HEN,  DOVE  114 

VIII.      THE   EAGLE,   GOOSE,   PEACOCK,   PELICAN, 

RAVEN    ......  133 

IX.      THE      BASILISK      OR      COCKATRICE      AND 

CENTAUR           .....  145 

THE    DRAGON    OR    SERPENT    .             .             .  157 

THE    GRIFFIN,    HYDRA    AND   CROCODILE, 

MANTICHORA,  MERMAID  OR  SYREN       .  186 

XII.      THE     SPHINX,     TERREBOLEN,     UNICORN, 

SERRA,   REMORA  AND  PHCENIX  .             .  204 

XIII.       CONCLUSION         .....  229 

TABLE    OF    PHOTOGRAPHS        .             .             .  231 

INDEX  237 


LIST  OF  BOOKS  LARGELY 
CONSULTED 

1.  Christian  Symbolism  in  Great  Britain  and   Ireland.     By 

J.  Romilly  Allen. 

2.  Animal    Symbolism    in    Ecclesiastical    Architecture.       By 

E.  P.  Evans.    (Heineman.) 

3.  Norman  Tympana  and  Lintels.    By  C.  E.  Keyser.     (Stock.) 

4.  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art.    By  Mrs.  Jameson.    (Longman.) 

5.  Black  Tournai  Fonts  in  England.   By  C.  H.  Eden. 

6.  Fonts  and  Font  Covers.      By    Francis    Bond.      (Oxford.) 

7.  Calendar  of  the  Prayer  Book.    By  James  Parker. 

8.  Encyclopaedia       Britannica.         Xlth     Edn.       Article     on 

"  Physiologus." 

9.  Early    Drawings    and    Illuminations    in    British   Museum. 

By  W.  de  Gray  Birch  and  Henry  Jenner. 

10.  Dictionary  of    Architecture,   article   on   "Animals."      By 

W.  J.  and  G.  A.  Audsley. 

11.  Treasury    Magazine,    June    and    July,    1911,    articles    on 

"  Natural  History  in  the  Psalms."     By  Canon  Horsley. 

12.  Guide  to  Early  Christian  and  Byzantine  Antiquities  in  the 

British  Museum. 

13.  Epistles  of  S.  John.     Essay  on  the  Relation  of  Christianity 

to  Art.    By  Bp.  Westcott. 


REPRESENTED    IN    ENGLISH 
ARCHITECTURE 


CHAPTER  I 

SOURCES  OF  ANIMAL  SYMBOLISM 

No  student  of  our  ancient  churches  can  fail 
to  have  noticed  how  frequently  animals  and 
other  representations  of  natural  history  are 
to  be  found  carved  therein.  The  question  will 
naturally  occur :  are  these  sculptures,  or 
paintings,  mere  grotesque  creations  of  the 
artist's  fancy,  or  have  they  rather  some  mean- 
ing which  patient  investigation  will  discover 
for  us  ?  It  is  only  during  the  last  few  years 
that  a  satisfactory  answer  to  these  questions 
has  been  discovered  ;  though  no  doubt  our 
grandfathers  suspected  that  these  animal 
carvings  were  not  merely  freaks  of  fancy. 

Owing  to  a  marked  similarity  in  subjects 
of   far   different    dates,   and   at   far   distant 

i 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS   IN 

places,  they  may  have  felt  that  there  was 
some  link  to  bind  them  together.  This  link 
has  now  been  found  in  the  natural  history 
books  of  the  Middle  Ages,  which  were  in  more 
comnion  circulation  than  any  other  book, 
save,  of  course,  the  Bible. 

Such  books  are  usually  called  Bestiaries. 
They  are  to  be  found  in  every  great  library, 
and  can  be  studied  by  those  who  have  the 
patience  and  requisite  knowledge. 

Let  us  understand  first  what  a  typical 
Bestiary  is  like,  and  then  we  may  try  to  solve 
the  more  difficult  problem  of  its  origin.  A 
Bestiary  may  treat  of  about  thirty  or  forty 
animals  and  birds,  real  or  mythical.  It  may 
be  adorned  by  illuminated  miniatures  of  each 
animal  treated,  and  will  give  a  description 
of  its  supposed  habits  and  appearance.  Again, 
the  writer  may  have  some  tale  to  tell  about 
the  animal.  But  last  (and  not  least,  for  this 
is  the  prominent  feature  of  the  Bestiaries) 
are  given  the  religious  and  moral  lessons 
which  the  animal's  behaviour  can  teach. 

Few  books  have  entered  more  than  the 
Bestiaries  into  the  common  life  of  European 
nations.  Hence  we  may  understand  that  the 
sculptors  who  beautified  our  churches  were 
not  slow  to  make  use  of  such  familiar  material. 

2 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

In  thus  laying  the  Bestiaries  under  contri- 
bution, the  builders  of  a  church  would  be  able 
to  carry  out  an  important  object — the  in- 
struction of  all  future  worshippers.  The  parson 
was  there  to  instruct  through  the  ears  of  his 
congregation,  while  the  sculptures  would 
instruct  still  more  effectively  through  the 
eyes. 

No  less  an  authority  than  Horace  has 
spoken  in  favour  of  the  eye  as  a  medium  of 
instruction— 

"  Segnius   irritant   animos  demissa   per  aureni 
Quam  quae  sunt  oculis  subjecta  fidelibus." 

—  Ars  Poetica.     Lines  180-181. 

And  what  is  more,  most  modern  teachers 
will  agree  with  him. 

The  original  Bestiary  (generally  called  the 
Physiologus)  was  produced  in  a  far  less 
scientific  age  than  ours.  No  one  knows  who 
wrote  the  Physiologus  ;  and  there  is  no  clue 
to  be  traced  from  the  title,  which  simply 
means  "  The  Naturalist."  But  owing  to  its 
doctrinal  and  linguistic  peculiarities  it  has 
been  assigned  to  an  Alexandrine  source. 

Professor  Land  has  shown  that  most  of  the 
animals  mentioned  in  the  Bestiaries  are  to  be 
found  in  Egypt,  or  may  be  seen  there  occasion- 
ally. He  has  also  drawn  attention  to  the  fact 

5 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 


that  the  technical  terms  of  Alexandrine 
literature  are  to  be  found  in  the  Physiologus. 
The  date  of  the  original  Physiologus  is  un- 
certain, for  the  original  MS.  is,  of  course,  lost. 
But  the  versions  of  Bestiaries  are  to  be  read 
in  about  a  dozen  European  languages  ;  per- 
haps the  earliest  of  all  belongs  to  the  fifth 
century.  The  early  naturalists,  whether  Greek, 
Roman,  or  Alexandrian,  were  not  scientific. 
To  them  the  classification  and  orderly  treat- 
ment of  our  experts  would  have  presented  no 
interest.  The  Romans  showed  considerable 
ingenuity  in  training  pets  or  wild  animals,  and 
their  officials  were  most  active  in  obtaining 
wild  beasts  to  grace  their  triumphs  or  to 
afford  amusement  to  the  degraded  populace 
in  the  amphitheatre.  But  their  authors,  in 
dealing  with  the  habits  of  wild  animals, 
showed  no  results  of  careful  observation. 
More  accustomed  as  they  were  to  record 
scraps  of  folk-lore  or  untrustworthy  travellers' 
tales,  they  never  concerned  themselves  with 
the  truth  or  falsity  of  details  which  to  us  are 
more  important  than  wide  and  general  obser- 
vations. Even  the  sober  and  accurate  Julius 
Caesar  imagines  that  a  kind  of  unicorn  exists 
in  Gaul.  He  soberly  states,  too,  that  elks 
have  no  joints  to  their  legs,  with  the  result 

a 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


that  they  can  never  lie  down,  but  have  to 
take  their  rest  by  leaning  against  trees. 
From  this  circumstance  an  ingenious  method 
of  capture  had  been  devised  by  the 
natives. 

The  same  remarks  as  to  want  of  scientific 
accuracy  apply,  generally  speaking,  to  the 
Greeks  with  the  exception  of  Aristotle. 
Alexandria,  the  birthplace  of  the  Bestiaries 
was  an  emporium  of  the  learning  and  super- 
stitions of  the  world ;  the  meeting  place 
of  East  and  West,  Greek,  Roman,  Jew, 
Egyptian,  in  fact  of  scholars  and  traders 
from  all  parts.  It  was  the  Alexandrine 
scholars  who  translated  the  Old  Testament 
into  the  Greek  of  the  Septuagint,  with 
which  our  early  Christian  writers  are  so 
familiar. 

Alexandrine  scholarship  and  theology  had 
many  peculiarities.  Some  there  were  who 
tried  to  reconcile  and  combine  the  teaching 
of  Greek  philosophers  with  the  teaching  of 
Christ.  Others,  again,  prominently  Origen, 
interpreted  the  Bible,  and  even  the  natural 
history  of  the  Bible,  in  a  mystical  or  symbolic 
sense.  The  result  was  that  the  plain  literal 
meaning  was  discredited.  When  the  current 
methods  of  natural  history  came  in  contact 

y 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS   IN 

with  the  current  methods  of  Biblical  inter- 
pretation ,  the  fortunes  of  the  former  were 
assured.  The  Physiologus  was  produced  by 
these  two  tendencies  combined. 

The  translations  of  the  Physiologus  entered 
into  all  the  popular  literatures  of  Europe,  and 
so  it  came  about  that  animals  from  the  East 
are  represented  in  the  churches  of  the  West, 
to  instruct  mediaeval  congregations. 

The  paintings  in  the  catacombs  at  Rome 
were  another  source  of  influence  on  ecclesias- 
tical art.  Though  some  early  Christians  held 
all  painting  and  sculpture  in  abhorrence,  and 
protests  against  their  use  were  made  by  pro- 
minent Fathers  of  the  Church,  yet  at  Rome, 
at  any  rate,  art  was  held  in  high  honour 
by  Christians  from  the  very  first.  About 
fifty  of  these  catacombs  are  said  to  exist, 
though  many  are  no  longer  explored.  They 
consist  of  corridors  and  chambers  cut  out 
from  the  tufa  which  forms  the  subsoil  near 
Rome.  The  dead  were  buried  in  niches 
along  the  corridors  or  in  the  chambers,  the 
walls  and  roofs  of  which  were  stuccoed  and 
covered  with  paintings.  These  paintings 
were  quite  frankly  pagan  in  influence,  though 
hallowed  by  the  presence  of  Christian  ideas. 
As  time  goes  on  they  degenerate,  but  during 

10 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

the    second    century    the    skill    displayed    is 
quite  remarkable. 

When  the  conversion  of  the  Emperor 
Constantine  made  Christianity  a  lawful  reli- 
gion, there  was  no  longer  the  same  necessity 
to  bury  the  dead,  or  to  worship  secretly,  in 
the  catacombs.  Churches  began  to  be  built 
in  great  numbers,  and  stone  sarcophagi  were 
produced  as  memorials  of  the  departed.  These 
sarcophagi  are  to  be  met  with  not  only  at 
Rome,  but  even  in  distant  Gaul,  Spain,  and 
North  Africa.  To  these  numerous  churches 
and  sarcophagi  the  artistic  influences  of  the 
catacombs  were  transferred. 

Dr.  Westcott  in  his  essay  on  the  Relation 
of  Christianity  to  A  rt,  describes  early  Christian 
art  as  conventional,  symbolic,  and  reserved  : 
conventional  in  subject  and  treatment,  sym- 
bolic because  it  represents  things  not  for 
themselves  but  for  the  ideas  they  conveyed, 
and  reserved  because  among  other  things  it 
shrank  from  depicting  the  human  features 
of  Our  Lord. 

This  symbolism  can,  we  believe,  be  traced 
to  two  or  three  causes.  In  the  days  of  per- 
secution it  would  be  most  dangerous  for 
Christian  art  to  be  too  obvious,  with  its 
meaning  clear  to  the  enemies  of  the  Church. 

13 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 


But  another,  and  even  more  important 
reason  is  given  for  the  symbolic  nature  of 
early  art.  It  is  stated  to  be  due  to  the  intel- 
lectual tendencies  of  the  time.  Symbolism 
was,  as  it  were,  in  the  air. 

No  one  believed  in  the  old  official  religion 
just  before  or  after  the  time  of  Christ,  and  in 
their  weariness  of  it  all  turned  to  the  newly 
conquered  East,  where  they  found  some  of 
the  relief  they  needed  in  the  mysticism  and 
allegory,  and  bold  theories  as  to  the  origin 
of  the  Universe  so  common  there.  What  was 
obvious  was  now  discounted ;  while  that 
which  symbolised  something  deeper  than 
itself  was  more  satisfactory  to  the  mind. 
As  Christianity  grew  it  made  its  appeal  to 
men  just  through  that  symbolism  to  which 
they  were  growing  accustomed. 

A  question  which  we  might  naturally  ask 
is  this  :  Did  the  architects  and  preachers  of 
the  Middle  Ages  believe  in  the  existence  of 
all  those  strange  animals,  such  as  dragons 
and  centaurs,  of  which  they  made  practical 
use  ?  Did  they  believe  in  the  current  folk-lore 
which  they  voiced  and  depicted  ?  Probably 
they  were  credulous  enough.  But,  on  the 
whole,  we  may  say  that  the  truth  of  the 
story  was  just  what  they  did  not  trouble 

14 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

about,  any  more  than  some  clergymen  are 
particular  about  the  absolute  truth  of  the 
stories  they  tell  children  from  the  pulpit. 
The  application,  the  lesson,  is  the  thing ! 
This  statement  might  be  proved  by  references 
to  early  Fathers  such  as  S.  Augustine  and 
S.  Basil,  and  also  to  writers  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

It  is  not  very  difficult  to  see  their  point  of 
view  when  we  remember  that  to  most  early 
Christians  all  nature  was  full  of  types  of  Christ 
and  Christianity.  To  laugh  at  such  ideas  is 
easy,  but,  for  all  that,  it  may  be  that  we  have 
fallen  into  the  opposite  errors. 

There  is  surely  a  sense  in  which  a  Christian 
may  "  Ask  the  beasts  and  they  shall  teach 
thee,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  they  shall 
tell  thee  "  (Job  xii.  7). 

We  are  trying  to  be  wiser  than  our  Master 
if  we  will  not  learn  from  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
and  the  lilies  of  the  field,  or  even  the  ox  fallen 
into  the  pit,  and  the  hen  clucking  to  her 
chickens. 

All  versions  of  the  Bestiaries  are  teeming 
with  a  surprising  number  of  errors,  even  where 
trustworthy  information  might  have  been 
obtained.  Ignorance  and  credulity  are  res- 
ponsible for  many,  but  not  for  all,  mistakes. 
The  Physiologus  was  never  a  classical  work, 

17 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

with  a  received  text  which  was  jealously 
guarded.  But  additions  from  many  sources 
such  as  we  cannot  trace,  might  be  made  by 
the  compiler  of  any  version  ;  and  if  subsequent 
writers  took  a  fancy  to  these  additions,  they 
would  accept  them  without  criticism  or 
hesitation.  A  great  deal  of  confusion  was  due 
to  mistranslations  of  the  names  of  various 
Biblical  animals,  or  to  a  natural  desire  to 
identify  the  fabulous  animals  derived  from 
the  classics  with  others  mentioned  in  the 
Bible.  Yet  the  Bestiaries  will  not  enable  us 
to  identify  all  the  beasts  and  birds  which  are 
represented  in  our  churches,  for  in  many 
cases  the  carvings  are  so  rough,  or  so  far- 
fetched and  fanciful  that  we  cannot  tell  what 
was  the  artist's  intention.  Yet  we  are  sure 
that,  where  investigation  and  comparison 
enable  us  to  fix  for  certain  the  identity  of  the 
animal,  the  religious,  moral  or  doctrinal 
lessons  attached  will  generally  be  found  in 
our  Bestiaries,  or  more  easily  still  in  our 
Bibles. 

To  take  just  two  examples.  Where  a  little 
practice  has  enabled  us  to  identify  the 
"Agnus  Dei"  or  "Lamb  of  God"  as  It 
stands  or  reclines  holding  a  Long  Cross  in 
Its  forepaws,  we  shall  be  able  to  find  in  the 

18 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

Bible  the  reference  to  Our  Lord,  "  the  Lamb  of 
God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world," 
"the  Lamb  that  was  slain"  of  the  Revelation. 

Or  when  again  we  have  performed  the 
comparatively  easy  task  of  recognising  the 
carvings  of  the  lion,  we  shall  in  all  probability 
find  its  exact  meaning  in  most  examples, 
either  in  the  pages  of  the  Bestiaries,  or  in  the 
Old  Testament,  or  perhaps  in  the  interpreta- 
tion which  has  been  assigned  by  mediaeval 
commentators  to  the  lion  of  Revelation  iv, 
which  they  held  to  signify  the  Evangelist, 
S.  Mark. 

It  has  often  been  surmised  that  the  whole 
fabric  of  a  church  signifies  the  human  soul, 
and  that  the  good  and  bad  animals  carved 
inside  and  out  represent  the  good  and  evil 
present  in  the  soul.  Some  have  suggested 
that  the  evil  beasts  carved  outside  a  building 
(such  as  those  under  the  eaves  of  the  Norman 
Church  of  Kilpeck,  Hereford)  are  a  warning 
to  the  worshipper  to  leave  his  evil  passions 
outside,  or  again  that  they  are  the  forces  of 
evil  escaping  from  the  holy  structure.  The 
difficulty  of  these  two  latter  theories  is  appa- 
rent, when  good  animals  and  birds  are  seen 
in  almost  inextricable  confusion  together  with 
those  that  are  bad. 

21 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  APE,  ASS,  BEAVER,  BEAR,  BOAR, 
CAMEL,  DOG,  ELEPHANT 

THE  greatest  difficulty  presented  by  the  study 
of  ecclesiastical  zoology,  is  not  so  much  to 
discover  the  interpretations  or  symbolic  mean- 
ings of  the  various  animals,  but  to  find  out 
for  certain  what  animals  the  carvings  before 
us  represent. 

Some,  like  the  lion  or  the  centaur,  may 
easily  be  recognised,  but  many  animals 
cannot  be  identified,  with  the  result  that  their 
interpretation  is  lost  to  us.  In  the  latter  case 
a  study  of  the  original  MS.  of  a  Bestiary  will 
sometimes  yield  astonishing  results.  For  in  the 
Bestiaries  we  shall  be  able  not  only  to  read 
the  animal's  name,  but  to  see  a  picture  of  it 
displaying  some  characteristic  or  habit  which, 
as  likely  as  not,  is  also  depicted  in  architecture. 

It  will  be  found  impossible  to  arrange  the 
animals  and  birds  treated  of  in  this  book  in  a 
scientific  order,  but  on  the  whole  the  alpha- 
betical order  which  we  have  adopted  will  be 
most  convenient  for  reference. 

Our  method  will  be  to  write  first  about 
22 


ENGLISH   CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

such  animals,  and  afterwards  such  birds  as 
really  exist,  even  though  their  habits  have 
been  much  misrepresented  by  ancient  authors ; 
and  afterwards  again  we  will  deal  with  those 
that  are  fabulous  and  mythical.  In  practice, 
however,  it  will  be  found  hard  to  keep  the 
real  and  the  fabulous  separate.  In  a  book  of 
this  size  it  will  not  be  possible  to  deal  with 
all  the  creatures  mentioned  in  the  various 
Bestiaries,  but  our  aim  will  be  to  say  what 
we  can  about  those  which  are  frequently 
represented,  or  likely  to  be  represented,  more 
or  less,  in  our  English  architecture.  We 
shall  begin  with  the  ape. 

According  to  Mr.  Romilly  Allen,  there  are 
no  representations  of  the  ape  in  our  churches 
dating  from  before  the  thirteenth  century. 
It  is  probable  that  this  statement  needs 
qualification. 

Anyone  who  has  tried  to  decipher  the  carv- 
ings of  the  beautiful  Norman  Church  of 
Barfreston,  in  Kent,  will  have  been  struck 
by  the  monkey-like  characteristics  of  some  of 
them.  Some  years  ago  the  writer  thought 
that  he  noticed  a  small  carving  of  a  monkey 
on  the  Transitional  Norman  door  of  Chirton, 
in  Wiltshire,  and  his  supposition  has  been 
confirmed  by  the  answer  which  the  resident 

25 

3— (2237) 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS   IN 


clergyman  gave  to  his  enquiry  about  the 
matter.  In  later  times,  the  ape  is  sometimes 
carved,  together  with  other  animals,  on  the 
stalls  of  our  larger  churches.  It  is  to  be  seen, 
for  instance,  on  the  misericords  of  Lincoln  and 
Bristol  Cathedrals.  In  such  cases,  stories  of 
the  type  of  ^.sop's  Fables  were  no  doubt  in 
the  mind  of  the  artist  at  the  time. 

We  read  a  good  deal  about  the  ass  in  the 
Old  Testament,  where  it  is  mentioned  about 
fifty  times  under  names  which  denote  either 
its  endurance  or  its  ruddy  colour.  Besides 
being  used  for  agriculture  and  for  burdens, 
the  ass  used  to  bear  official  dignitaries  upon 
its  back.  By  riding  thus  mounted  into  Jeru- 
salem on  Palm  Sunday,  Our  Lord  not  only 
revived  the  humble  pageantry  of  the  Book  of 
Judges  (cp.  Judges  v.  10,  x.  4,  xii.  14),  but 
also  fulfilled  the  Messianic  prophecy  of 
Zechariah.  The  scene  of  the  entry  into 
Jerusalem  upon  an  ass  is  occasionally  treated 
in  Norman  sculpture,  as,  for  instance,  on  the 
Norman  font  of  West  Haddon,  Northampton- 
shire. In  this  example  a  man  is  shown  offering 
Our  Lord  a  palm. 

The  ass  and  the  ox  together  are  to  be  seen 
on  carvings  of  the  Nativity,  or  the  adoration 
of  the  Magi.  On  Fincham  font,  Norfolk,  the 

26 


ENGLISH   CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 


manger,  the  Holy  Child,  a  big  star,  and  the 
heads  of  an  ox  and  an  ass  are  alone  depicted. 
On  a  panel  of  the  fifteenth  century  reredos 
of  Yarnton,  Oxon,  the  ox  and  ass  are  shown 
eating  out  of  a  common  manger,  while  three 
kings,  one  of  them  young  and  beardless, 
come  and  offer  their  golden  cups  to  the 
Infant  Saviour,  Who  is  seated  in  His  Mother's 
arms.  S.  Joseph  with  his  carpenter's  "  square" 
is  rather  crushed  into  a  bottom  corner. 
On  the  font  at  Walton,  near  Liverpool, 
there  is  a  carving  of  the  flight  of  the  Holy 
Family  into  Egypt.  S.  Joseph  is  carrying 
Our  Lord,  while  the  blessed  Virgin  rides  the 
ass,  and  a  cross  is  carved  over  her  head. 

Buddhist  sages  used  to  counsel  their  disci- 
ples to  take  pattern  by  the  humility  and 
patience  of  the  ass. 

We  know  of  no  English  architectural  repre- 
sentations of  the  beaver,  which  is  so  often 
depicted  and  described  in  the  Bestiaries. 
The  story  goes  that  certain  parts  of  the  beaver 
were  filled  with  a  precious  substance  useful 
in  the  cure  of  certain  diseases.  The  hunters 
would  zealously  track  the  animal  to  obtain 
this  substance.  But  the  beaver  would  know 
what  they  were  after,  and  by  self-mutilation 
give  the  hunters  the  object  of  their  desire, 

29 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 


and  thus  effect  its  escape.  So  the  man  of  God 
is  to  separate  from  himself  the  works  of  the 
flesh  and,  by  throwing  them  to  the  devil,  to 
save  his  soul  alive. 

In  a  splendid  English  Bestiary  of  the 
thirteenth  century  in  the  British  Museum 
(Harl.  4751)  the  hunters  are  depicted  with 
their  prize,  while  the  beaver  is  allowed  to 
escape. 

The  bear  often  figures  in  Norman  archi- 
tecture, where  it  is  probably  a  symbol  of  the 
devil.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  interpretation 
which  S.  Augustine  gives  in  his  sermons, 
when  he  explains  the  significance  of  David's 
combat  with  the  lion  and  the  bear.  The  best 
examples  we  know  of  are  carved  on  the  south 
door  of  the  exquisite  Norman  church  of 
Barf  rest  on.  Here  are  two  bears  (or  possibly 
a  bear  and  another  animal)  discussing  with 
evident  relish  the  contents  of  a  hive  of  honey. 
Below  this  is  a  still  more  curious  medallion. 
A  bear  is  playing  the  harp,  whilst  a  naked 
human  figure  is  contorting  itself  to  the 
music,  with  both  hands  and  feet  upon  the 
ground.  Antiquaries  have  been  much  puzzled 
by  this  :  What  does  it  all  mean  ?  To  the 
present  writer  the  simplest  interpretation 
seems  the  best.  It  means  that  the  devil  is 

30 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

luring  his  victim  to  destruction  by  bodily 
and  sensual  delights. 

The  bear  is  sometimes  to  be  found  muzzled 
on  Norman  corbels.  Here,  too,  the  application 
is  obvious.  The  devil  when  muzzled  cannot 
do  much  harm. 

The  wild  boar  is  to  be  seen  on  Norman 
tympana,  notably  at  S.  Nicholas,  Ipswich, 
and  Ashford,  in  Derbyshire.  In  the  latter 
example  the  boar  is  attacking  a  convention- 
alised tree  from  one  side,  while  a  lion  is  on 
the  other  side.  It  is  just  possible  that  we  have 
here  an  allusion  to  Psalm  Ixxx.  13,  where  it 
is  said  of  the  vine  brought  out  of  Egypt,  that 
"  the  wild  boar  out  of  the  wood  doth  root  it 
up  ;  and  the  wild  beasts  of  the  field  devour 
it."  If  this  interpretation  be  correct,  then  the 
meaning  of  the  sculpture  would  be,  that  the 
power  of  evil  is  trying  to  uproot  and  destroy 
the  power  of  Christ. 

The  boar  is  found  on  a  most  curious  early 
sculpture  at  Clifton  Hampden  Church,  Oxon, 
which  Mr.  C.  E.  Keyser  says  represents  a 
hunting  scene  with  hunter  and  hounds.  It 
looks  as  though  the  hunter  were  in  a  state  of 
mortal  terror  as  he  clings  to  the  tail  of  the 
foremost  hound.  Under  the  body  of  the  boar 
is  the  head  of  a  man,  who  has  been  already 

33 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 

killed.  Perhaps  the  whole  body  was  there 
once,  but  the  fragmentary  nature  of  the 
sculpture  prevents  our  ascertaining  this.  If 
Mr.  Keyser's  interpretation,  which  we  have 
followed,  is  correct,  the  hounds  are  unusually 
large,  far  larger  than  the  man. 

At  Tutbury,  Staffordshire,  and  little  Lang- 
ford,  Wiltshire,  are  other  representations  of  a 
boar  hunt.  Two  wild  boars  face  one  another 
on  a  perpendicular  screen  at  Headcorn, 
Kent. 

The  camel,  and  similar  beasts,  are  fre- 
quently represented  in  manuscripts  of  all 
countries  in  the  British  Museum  and  else- 
where. We  have  seen  a  camel  carved  on  one 
of  the  fine  sixteenth  century  bench-ends  of 
Sefton,  Lanes  ;  where  a  rider  is  seated  on 
his  back,  and  brandishes  a  short  sword,  or 
scimitar. 

A  bactria  or  camel-like  animal  is  drawn 
on  the  famous  early  fourteenth  century  map 
of  the  world  in  Hereford  Cathedral.  This 
unique  composition,  which  is  scattered 
thickly  over  with  representations  of  animals 
from  the  Bestiaries,  with  their  appropriate 
inscriptions,  was  the  work  of  a  prebendary  of 
the  cathedral,  who  gives  his  name  as  Richard 
de  Haldingham  and  de  Lafford. 

34 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

The  dog  is  represented  as  a  rule  in  hunting 
scenes,  probably  with  no  intentional  symbol- 
ism, and  also  at  the  feet  of  recumbent  effigies 
and  brasses.  Once,  at  any  rate,  he  is  carved 
on  the  foot  of  a  cross  slab  also,  as  on  a  sepul- 
chral slab  at  Oakley,  Beds.  He  is  to  be  seen 
on  the  very  archaic  but  probably  fourteenth 
century  font  of  Lostwithiel,  in  Cornwall. 
The  date  of  this  font  has  been  a  matter  of 
considerable  discussion  among  antiquaries, 
as  there  are  certain  features  (such  as  a  prick 
spur  in  a  panel  representing  a  hunting  scene, 
and  a  Crucifixion  in  another  panel  with  two 
nails  to  secure  the  feet  of  Our  Lord)  which  by 
themselves  would  point  to  an  earlier  date. 
Other  details  must  however  be  later.  It  is  on 
the  whole  best  to  suppose  that  the  early- 
looking  features  are  simply  survivals  in  later 
work.  Cornish  architecture  is  full  of 
archaisms. 

One  panel  of  the  Loswithiel  font  contains 
a  huntsman  mounted  on  horseback  with  a 
horn  in  his  mouth,  and  a  hawk  on  his  left 
hand.  A  hound  is  running  on  ahead,  with  the 
same  stiff  bounding  action  as  the  horse. 
On  another  panel  a  hound  has  caught  a 
hare  by  the  hindquarters,  while  above  are 
the  traces  of  a  reptile  carving,  disfigured 

37 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

probably  by  the  Parliamentarian  army,  which 
turned  the  church  into  a  stable,  and  even 
baptised  a  horse  in  the  font. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  specimens  of 
natural  carving  is  on  an  arch  stone  of  Bar- 
freston  south  door.  A  bit  of  English  landscape 
is  indicated  by  a  tree,  in  front  of  which  two 
hounds  are  running  to  the  right,  while  the 
object  of  their  pursuit,  a  hare,  has  doubled 
back  to  the  left  and  is  escaping. 

There  are  few  carvings  of  the  elephant 
before  1200,  though  the  head  of  one  is  carved 
under  the  string  course  at  the  west  end  of 
the  Norman  church  of  Kilpeck.  A  man  has 
been  caught  in  the  animars  trunk. 

The  elephant  is  one  of  the  animals  dealt 
with  at  length  in  the  Bestiaries.  It  is  said  to 
be  so  strong  that  it  can  carry  a  tower  full  of 
armed  men  on  its  back,  and  therefore  it  is  of 
great  service  in  battle.  The  Bestiaries  often 
represent  it  with  the  tower,  which  sometimes 
contains  the  men  who  are  fighting  with  their 
enemies. 

The  elephant  was  said  to  live  200  years, 
while  the  female,  according  to  mediaeval 
authors,  requires  two  years  to  bring  forth 
its  young.  When  the  time  arrives  for  the 
elephants  to  pair,  they  go  to  a  region  in  the 

38 


ENGLISH   CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 


neighbourhood  of  Paradise,  wheie  the  man- 
dragora  grows.  Of  this  plant  they  eat.  When 
the  mother  is  about  to  bring  forth  her  young, 
she  goes  into  a  pond  until  the  water  touches 
her  breast,  and  there  gives  them  birth.  As 
the  Psalmist  says  :  "  Save  me,  O  God,  for 
the  waters  are  come  in  to  my  soul."  Mean- 
while the  male  keeps  watch  against  the 
dragon,  which  seeks  to  devour  the  newly 
born  elephant.  If  the  male  discovers  the 
dragon,  he  kills  him  by  stamping  on  him 
with  his  feet.  The  combat  of  the  elephant 
and  the  dragon  is  often  drawn  in  old  manu- 
scripts. Sometimes  the  dragon  wounds  the 
elephant,  as  the  latter  crushes  him  down  ; 
sometimes  the  dragon  manages  to  coil  himself 
round  the  elephant's  body. 

The  elephants  are  in  an  absurd  way  typical 
of  Adam  and  Eve,  who  ate  of  the  forbidden 
fruit,  and  also  have  the  dragon  for  their 
enemy.  It  was  supposed  that  the  elephant 
(much  like  the  elks  of  Julius  Caesar)  used  to 
sleep  by  leaning  against  a  tree.  The  hunters 
would  come  by  night,  and  cut  the  trunk 
through.  Down  he  would  come  roaring 
helplessly.  None  of  his  friends  would  be  able 
to  help  him,  until  a  small  elephant  should 
come  and  lever  him  up  with  his  trunk.  This 

41 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS 

small  elephant  was  symbolic  of  Jesus  Christ, 
Who  came  in  great  humility  to  rescue  the 
human  race  which  had  fallen  "through  a  tree." 

The  Bestiaries  have  a  good  deal  to  say 
about  the  mandragora,  or  mandrake,  which 
the  elephant  eats  in  Paradise.  It  is  a  plant, 
luminous  at  night,  which  is  shaped  just  like 
a  human  being.  When  people  wish  to  obtain 
the  mandrake,  they  have  to  be  very  careful, 
for  it  will  flee  at  the  sight  of  an  unclean  man. 
First,  its  head  must  be  touched  with  iron. 
Then  the  earth  is  scraped  away  with  an 
ivory  staff,  until  the  hands  and  feet  of  the 
plant  appear.  Next  the  plant  has  to  be  tied 
to  a  dog's  neck,  and  meat  is  thrown  to  the 
dog,  in  such  a  way  that,  when  he  tries  to 
catch  the  meat,  he  must  jerk  the  mandrake 
up. 

The  mandrake  is  really  a  plant  of  the  same 
genus  as  the  belladonna.  It  has  yellow  fruit 
about  the  size  of  a  plum,  with  a  peculiar 
sweet  taste.  The  popular  tradition,  referred 
to  in  the  Bible,  that  the  mandrake  is  an 
aphrodisiac,  still  survives  in  Palestine.  There 
is  a  representation  of  it  on  the  map  of  the 
world  in  Hereford  Cathedral  (as  mentioned 
above),  with  the  inscription  :  "  Mandragora 
herba  mirabiliter  virtuosa." 

42 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  FOX,  THE  GOAT,  THE  HART  AND 
ANTELOPE,  THE  HYENA 

ON  the  Norman  doorway  of  Alne,  in  York- 
shire, among  a  number  of  other  animal 
carvings,  is  one  of  an  animal  lying  on  its 
back,  with  paws  outstretched,  so  that  it  seems 
to  be  dead.  Two  birds  are  represented  ;  one 
pecking  the  animal's  body,  and  the  other 
placing  its  head  in  its  jaws.  The  inscription 
above — the  word  Vulpis1 — leaves  no  room  for 
doubt  as  to  the  artist's  intention. 

The  Bestiaries  relate  that  the  fox  ensnares 
unwary  fowls  by  pretending  to  be  dead  ;  in 
like  manner  the  devil  deceives  unwary  souls 
who  love  the  corrupt  things  of  the  world. 
The  carving  at  Alne  was  probably  taken 
direct  from  a  Bestiary.  This  and  the  other 
carved  archstones  from  the  same  church 
are  particularly  valuable,  owing  to  their 
inscriptions. 

In  a  very  mutilated  Liber  de  Animalibus 
of  the  thirteenth  century  in  the  Brilish 
Museum  (Vit.  D.  1)  two  birds  are  pecking 
at  the  mouth  of  the  fox  ;  while  the  latter  is 

1  Vulpis  is  the  actual  inscription  on  the  door,  though  it  is 
a  rarer  form  of  the  word  than  Vulpes. 

45 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

shown  with  his  eyes  cunningly  closed,  and  he 
has  caught  a  third  bird  in  one  paw. 

Quite  as  frequently  the  fox  is  represented 
as  preaching  in  a  monk's  or  friar' sv  habit  to 
geese  and  other  creatures,  as  on  the  stalls  of 
Beverley  Minster,  S.  Mary's  Beverley,  and 
Ely  Cathedral.  Generally  such  carvings  are 
accompanied  by  others  which  represent  Rey- 
nard devouring  his  flock,  or  paying  the  penalty 
of  his  crimes  on  the  scaffold  :  from  which 
ordeal  he  sometimes  emerges  alive — to  try 
again  ! 

At  Worcester  Cathedral  there  are  carved 
on  a  misericord  foxes  running  in  and  out  of 
holes.  S.  John  the  Evangelist  stands  near  by 
with  his  Gospel  in  his  hand,  and  his  eagle  at 
his  feet.  Here  we  can  see  an  allusion  to  our 
Saviour's  words,  "  Foxes  have  holes,"  etc., 
in  S.  Matt.  viii.  20.  It  has  been  supposed  that 
the  object  of  this  particular  carving  is  to 
induce  him  who  sees  it  to  choose  between 
good  and  evil. 

The  carvings  of  the  fox  in  friar's  garb  are 
undoubtedly  satirical.  To  the  friars  of  the 
thirteenth  century  a  great  revival  of  religion 
was  due.  They  mixed  with  the  people  in  fair 
and  market,  and  won  many  to  Christ  by  their 
preaching  and  self-denying  lives.  But,  alas, 

46 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  still  more  in 
the  fifteenth,  their  zeal  declined,  until  they 
became  the  veritable  forerunners  of  the  mo- 
dern tramp,  and  the  terror  of  good  housewives 
who 'lived  near  the  main  roads.  For  such 
reasons  as  these,  and  also  for  their  restless 
and  innovating  spirit,  the  begging  friars  were 
much  disliked  by  the  secular  and  monastic 
clergy  ;  whenever  the  latter  built  their 
churches,  they  would  not  forego  their  oppor- 
tunity of  paying  off  old  scores  if  they 
wanted  subjects  for  the  misericords. 

The  goat  of  the  Bestiaries  is  fond  of  the 
high  mountains.  It  can  tell  from  a  long  dis- 
tance whether  men  are  merely  harmless 
travellers,  or  hunters  coming  to  destroy  it. 
It  is  thus  typical  of  Christ,  the  far-seeing  Son 
of  God,  Who  foresaw  the  deceit  of  the  devil, 
and  His  Own  betrayal  by  Judas. 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  division  of  the  sheep 
and  the  goats  on  the  Judgment  Day  (cp. 
Matt.  xxv.  32)  is  not  represented  in  English 
architecture  ;  but  examples  of  the  goat  are 
to  be  seen  on  the  capitals  of  the  chancel  arch 
of  Adel  (Yorks)  ;  on  the  jambs  of  a  doorway 
at  Ely  Cathedral,  and  probably  with  other 
animals  on  the  tympanum  of  the  north  door 
of  Barton  Segrave,  Northants. 

49 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 


The  Bestiaries  comment  in  an  extraordinary 
manner  on  Psalm  xlii.  1,  "  Like  as  the  hart 
desireth  the  waterbrooks,  so  longeth  my  soul 
after  Thee,  O  God." 

We  are  content  with  the  natural  and  obvious 
interpretation  :  not  so  the  Physiologus.  The 
Physiologus  says  that  the  hart  and  dragon 
are  at  enmity.  When  the  former  sees  the 
latter  it  goes  and  fills  its  stomach  with  water 
at  the  nearest  stream,  while  the  dragon  flees 
for  refuge  into  a  cleft  of  the  rocks.  Then 
comes  the  hart,  and  blows  the  water  down 
into  the  hole  where  the  dragon  is,  so  as  to 
drown  it  out.  The  dragon  is  finally  dispatched 
by  the  hart's  feet.  This  absurd  story  of  the 
hart  makes  it  typical  of  our  redemption  by 
Jesus  Christ.  Our  Lord  .followed  the  devil 
into  the  lower  places  of  the  earth,  and,  by 
pouring  blood  and  water  from  His  side,  drove 
away  the  devil  by  the  waters  of  regeneration. 

This  story  is  probably  carved  in  wood  on  the 
pulpit  of  Forrabury,  Cornwall  ;  though  in  this 
case  the  dragon  is  more  like  a  four-legged 
beast  or  devil.  Here  we  see  the  hart  at  the 
top  of  the  carving,  hurrying  as  fast  as  it  can, 
while  below  is  the  cleft  of  the  rock,  and  on 
either  side  of  the  cleft  are  the  head  and 
hindquarters  of  the  devil  who  is  looking  out 

50 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 


in  fear.  Perhaps  he  is  represented  more  at 
large  on  the  next  panel.  Forrabury  pulpit 
is  made  up  of  what  were  originally  bench-ends. 
Even  the  altar  is  similarly  constructed. 

The  stag  hunt  is  very  frequently  repre- 
sented on  Celtic  crosses.  Sometimes  we  see 
the  stag  represented  alone,  as  on  an  arch  of 
the  shamefully  used  Norman  church  of 
Shobdon,  Hereford.  On  a  stall  at  Sefton, 
Lancashire,  something  very  like  an  antelope 
is  carved.  The  animal  has  serrated  horns, 
and  is  shown  eating  herbage,  while  his  horn- 
less mate  is  prancing  off  in  fear  in  the 
opposite  direction. 

There  may  be  here  an  allusion  to  the  mediae- 
val idea,  according  to  which  the  antelope's 
horns  are  so  powerful,  that  he  can  saw  trees 
asunder  with  them.  It  makes  its  way  when 
thirsty  to  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  but 
on  the  way  it  is  led  aside  to  eat  some  pleasant 
shrubs.  These  entangle  its  horns,  so  that 
the  hunters  or  wild  beasts  come  and  kill  the 
antelope. 

The  two  horns  of  the  antelope  represent 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,  with  which  the 
adversary  can  be  resisted.  But  woe  betide 
the  Christian  who  allows  himself  to  be  led 
away  by  the  temptations  of  the  world,  for 

53 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS   IN 


then  what  was  formerly  of  use  can  help  him 
no  more.  This  scene  is  often  represented  in 
mediaeval  manuscripts,  as,  e.g.,  in  the  illumi- 
nated Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France.  In  the 
thirteenth  century  Bestiary  in  the  British 
Museum  (called  Harl.  4751),  a  hunter  has 
been  attacking  the  antelope  with  axe  and 
horn.  There  is  a  wound  in  the  antelope's 
side,  with  the  life-blood  gushing  out,  as  the 
animal  falls  in  death. 

The  hyena  can  generally  be  recognised  in 
architecture  by  his  being  represented  as 
devouring  a  human  carcase,  or  something  that 
looks  like  a  plant  or  tree.  At  Alne  there  is  an 
inscribed  example  of  the  latter. 

In  the  thirteenth-century  Bestiary  in  the 
British  Museum  (Vit.  D.  1)  the  hyena  has  a 
cat's  head,  and  curious  bands  or  straps  round 
its  neck  and  body.  It  is  devouring  a  plant. 
In  other  MSS.  it  has  prised  off  the  lid  of  a 
sepulchre,  and  is  devouring  a  corpse. 

The  Bestiaries  say  that  it  is  like  a  bear, 
with  the  neck  of  a  fox,  and  that  it  has  the 
power  of  changing  its  sex.  The  hyena  is  thus 
symbolic  of  nameless  vice,  and  also  of  the 
double-minded  man.  A  characteristic  of  the 
hyena  is  that  he  is  wont  to  inhabit  tombs, 
and  devour  the  dead  bodies.  We  see  him 

54 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

thus  occupied  on  a  rafter  in  the  roof  of  one 
of  the  cloisters  of  Hereford  Cathedral.  The 
hyena  is  supposed  to  have  in  his  eye  a  stone, 
which,  when  it  is  placed  under  a  man's 
tongue,  will  give  him  the  gift  of  prophecy. 
Sometimes  this  animal  imitates  the  human 
voice,  and  lures  shepherds  to  their  destruction 
by  calling  their  names  at  night. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in  his  History  of  the 
World  affirms  that  the  hyena  is  the  offspring 
of  a  dog  and  a  cat,  and  that  it  came  into 
existence  first,  just  after  the  Deluge.  It  would 
not  have  been  tolerated  in  the  ark  ! 

Both  at  Alne  and  at  Hereford,  the  hyena's 
floriated  tail  is  very  noticeable.  We  have  seen 
no  other  animal  carved  with  such  a  tail  as  his. 
It  was  the  tail  that  enabled  us  to  recognise 
him  on  one  of  the  Norman  capitals  under 
the  tower  of  Alton  parish  church,  Hants, 
where  the  carving  is  very  similar  to  that  of 
Alne,  though  there  is  no  inscription. 

Besides  his  being  a  symbol  of  impurity  and 
instability,  the  habit  of  preying  on  corruption 
makes  the  hyena  to  be  a  type  of  the  Jews, 
who  preferred  the  dry  bones  of  the  law  to  the 
living  Gospel.  There  is  no  beast  with  a  less 
enviable  meaning. 

For  once  the  Bestiaries  have  got  hold  of  a 

57 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS 


fragment  of  the  truth.  The  hyena,  which  is 
commonly  found  in  Palestine,  seldom  attacks 
living  animals  except  under  pressure  of  severe 
hunger.  He  is  the  most  cowardly  of  all  beasts 
of  prey.  When  even  carrion  is  unattainable, 
the  hyena  has  been  known  to  take  a  skeleton 
that  the  vultures  have  picked  clean,  and  to 
crush  the  bones  with  its  powerful  jaws,  so 
that  it  may  extract  the  marrow.  It  is  a 
solitary  animal  and,  as  it  makes  night  hideous 
by  its  cries,  the  hyena  is  naturally  an  object 
of  superstitious  dread  throughout  the 
countryside. 


58 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  HEDGEHOG,  THE  LAMB,  THE  LION 

THE  hedgehog  is  a  type  of  the  Evil  One. 
Mediaeval  natural  history  described  him  as 
a  robber  of  the  vines.  First  he  would  knock 
off  the  grapes  and  then  he  would  carry  them 
away  on  his  spines.  In  a  similar  way  the  devil 
robs  men  of  their  souls. 

On  a  spandrel  of  the  perpendicular  Easter 
sepulchre  at  Childrey,  Berks,  the  hedgehog 
is  carved  eating  grapes  from  a  conventional 
vine,  and  three  dogs  come  to  bark  at  and 
worry  him.  The  hedgehog  seems  imperturb- 
able, confident  in  his  power  of  being  a  match 
for  any  or  all  of  them. 

When  a  lamb  is  seen  in  architecture,  it  is 
almost  always  the  "  Lamb  of  God "  or 
"  Agnus  Dei,"  Who  was  crucified  for  our 
salvation,  the  only  acceptable  sacrifice.  The 
ecclesiastical  symbolism  is  derived  not  only 
from  S.  John  Baptist's  words  with  reference 
to  Our  Lord  :  '  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world," 
and  from  1  S.  Peter  i.  19,  "  A  Lamb  with- 
out blemish  and  without  spot  "  ;  but  more 

61 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS  IN 

particularly  from  the  Revelation  of  S.  John, 
where  the  symbolism  is  met  with  more  than 
a  score  of  times.  It  was  for  this  Lamb 
that  the  Old  Testament  sacrifices  were  a 
preparation. 

Our  artistic  representations  have  their  pro- 
totype in  almost  every  detail  in  the  paintings, 
sarcophagi,  and  mosaics  of  the  early  Roman 
churches  and  catacombs. 

There  as  here  in  England  we  may  see  the 
sacred  Animal  nimbed,  with  the  long  cross 
of  the  Resurrection  beside  It.  But,  of  course, 
there  are  many  examples  in  which  the  Agnus 
has  no  nimbus,  as,  e.g.,  in  a  medallion  between 
two  evangelistic  symbols  at  Aston,  Hereford, 
at  Kilpeck  Church,  and  also  on  perpendicular 
fonts  such  as  that  of  Southfleet,  Kent. 

The  banner  which  flies  from  the  cross  in 
this,  and  many  other  examples,  is,  like  the 
long  cross,  a  token  of  victory  over  death. 
Or  it  may  be  symbolic  of  the  victory  of  the 
Lamb  over  the  Beast,  mentioned  in  Rev. 
xvii.  14. 

The  early  Roman  examples  have,  however, 
a  piece  of  symbolism  which  is  lacking  in  our 
churches  ;  for  the  Lamb  is  sometimes  shown 
standing  on  Mount  Zion  with  four  rivers  of 
Paradise  issuing  forth  from  the  base  (cp. 

62 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

Rev.  xiv.  1,  xxii.  1).  These  four  rivers  were 
held  to  be  symbolic  of  the  four  evangelists. 
In  other  early  examples  the  Lamb  is  placed 
in  the  centre,  with  the  Apostles  ranged  as 
sheep  on  either  side. 

The  Lamb  with  the  cross  is  the  earliest 
symbolic  representation  of  the  Crucifixion. 
All  early  Christians  disliked  to  represent  the 
actual  scene  of  Our  Lord's  Passion,  partly 
out  of  fear  of  ridicule,  partly  because  they 
shrank  from  representing  the  slavish  way  in 
which  Our  Lord  was  killed,  but  chiefly 
because  of  that  laudable  reserve,  which  is  a 
characteristic  of  all  early  Christian  art. 

As  time  went  on,  however,  reserve  gra- 
dually gave  place  to  realism.  The  Lamb  came 
to  be  represented  on  the  Cross,  as  at  Wirks- 
worth,  Derbyshire,  from  which  it  was  a  short 
step,  determined  by  a  council  held  at  Con- 
stantinople in  683,  to  place  the  actual  figure 
of  Our  Lord  upon  the  Cross.  One  of  the  very 
earliest  extant  examples  of  Christ  Himself 
on  the  Cross  is  carved  on  an  ivory  casket  of 
the  fifth  century  in  the  British  Museum.  Even 
here  there  is  no  true  realism.  Our  Saviour 
has  His  eyes  open,  and  Judas  has  hanged 
himself  on  a  tree  hard  by. 

Of    the    interesting    slab    at    Wirksworth 

65 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS   IN 

to  which  we  have  just  alluded,  Bishop 
Westcott  says  as  follows  :  '  The  slab  was 
found  some  years  ago  buried  under  the  floor 
of  the  chancel.  The  work  is  rude,  and  was 
probably  executed  by  some  English  sculptor 
of  the  ninth  or  tenth  century,  but  the  design 
is  of  a  much  earlier  date,  and  may  reasonably 
be  referred  to  an  Italian  artist  of  the  sixth  or 
seventh  century.  .  .  .  On  the  centre  of  a 
plain  Greek  cross  is  laid  the  figure  of  a  dead 
Lamb.  As  far  as  I  can  learn,  the  conception 
is  unique.  The  drooping  head  and  the  bent 
legs  of  the  victim  tell  of  death  with  eloquent 
force  ;  and  under  this  limited  aspect  it  is 
perhaps  allowable  to  present  for  contempla- 
tion the  dead  Christ.  No  one,  I  think,  can 
regard  It  without  feeling  that  we  have  lost 
greatly  by  substituting  a  literal  representation 
for  such  a  symbol." 

On  the  Norman  tympana  of  Parwich  and 
Hognaston,  Derbyshire,  the  Agnus  Dei  seems 
to  be  incongruously  assorted  with  a  crowd  of 
wild  beasts,  birds  and  serpents.  In  the  latter 
case  the  beasts  are  accompanied  by  an 
ecclesiastic  with  his  pastoral  staff.  The 
symbolism  of  this  association  has  constantly 
puzzled  archaeologists.  It  seems  to  the  writer, 
however,  that  a  suggestion  of  Mrs.  Jameson 

66 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


in  her  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art  comes  near 
to  explaining  the  meaning. 

"  When,"  she  says,  "  wild  beasts  as  wolves 
and  bears  are  placed  at  the  feet  of  a  saint 
attired  as  abbot  or  bishop,  it  signifies  that  he 
cleared  waste  land,  cut  down  forests,  and 
substituted  Christian  culture  and  civilisation 
for  Paganism  and  the  lawless  hunter's  life :  such 
is  the  significance  in  pictures  of  S.  Magnus, 
S.  Florentius,  and  S.  Germain  of  Auxerre." 

Even  where,  as  at  Parwich,  there  is  no 
ecclesiastic,  the  symbolic  meaning  may  be 
much  the  same. 

On  the  Norman  font  at  Kirkburn,  Yorks, 
the  Lamb  is  confronted  by  a  savage  with  a 
club  on  his  shoulder ;  the  savage  is  leading 
by  a  rope  what  may  be  a  bear. 

As  a  rule  there  will  be  little  difficulty  in 
recognising  the  "  Agnus  "  through  the  bent 
foreleg  in  which  the  Cross  is  carried. 

There  is  no  animal  more  frequently  repre- 
sented in  our  churches  than  the  lion.  His 
symbolism  is  twofold,  both  good  and  evil, 
and  therefore  it  is  somewhat  confusing. 

The  lion  is  easily  recognised  by  his  tufted 
tail  (either  between  his  legs  or  curved  over 
his  back),  and  also  by  his  conventional  mane, 
which  is  often  like  feathers. 

69 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

In  the  Hereford  mappa  mundi  the  lion  is 
almost  indistinguishable  from  the  leopard, 
so  that  in  some  cases  it  is  probable  that  the 
latter  is  intended.  The  lion  is  often  typical 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah 
(cp.  Gen.  xlix.  9,  Hos.  v.  14,  Rev.  v.  5).  By 
referring  to  the  last  passage  we  read  that  Our 
Lord  is  also  symbolised  by  the  Lamb  in  the 
next  verse,  with  a  different  purpose  :  the 
Lamb  representing  what  was  gentle  and 
obedient  in  the  perfect  character  of  Him  Who 
was  sacrificed  for  us ;  while  the  Lion  is 
rather  a  type  of  Christ's  power  and  might, 
and  all  that  was  kingly  and  majestic  in  Him. 
Mrs.  Jameson  notes  that  in  paintings  of  the 
saints  the  presence  of  the  lion  symbolises 
solitude,  or  perhaps  the  manner  of  the  saints' 
death.  Three  principal  characteristics  of  the 
lion  are  recorded  in  the  Bestiaries. 

(1)  When  he  is  pursued  by  hunters  he  is 
able  to  efface  the  tracks  of  his  feet  with  his 
tail.     So  the  "  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  " 
concealed  His  Godhead  from  all  who  did  not 
seek  Him  aright. 

(2)  The  lion  was  supposed  to  sleep  with  his 
eyes  open.    This  is  a  type  of  the  wakefulness 
of  Christ's  Godhead  whilst  His  human  body 
was  wrapt  in  the  sleep  of  death.  Psalm  cxxi.  4 

70 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


is  also  quoted  in  this  connection  :  "  Behold, 
He  that  keepeth  Israel  shall  neither  slumber 
nor  sleep." 

A  lion  is  carved  on  Eardisley  font,  Here- 
fordshire, with  one  eye  open.  Lions  are  also 
carved  on  the  east  front  of  Barfreston  with 
probably  a  symbolic  meaning  of  this  character. 

(3)  There  was  a  fable  that  the  lioness 
brought  forth  her  cubs  dead.  After  three 
days  the  male  lion  would  come  and  howl 
over  the  cubs,  and  quicken  them  by  his  breath. 
So  the  Almighty  Father  on  the  third  day 
recalled  to  life  His  only  begotten  Son,  and 
one  day  will  quicken  us  together  with  Him. 
The  lion  is  thus  a  symbol  of  the  Resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ,  Who  was  Himself  "the  first 
fruits  of  them  that  slept." 

The  lion  was  taken  as  a  type  of  S.  Mark, 
because  it  was  felt  that  he  among  the  Evan- 
gelists dealt  especially  with  the  Resurrection 
of  Christ,  and  with  His  Kingship. 

This  symbolism  is,  of  course,  originally 
derived  from  the  Revelation,  where  the  four 
living  creatures  were  held  in  Christian  tradi- 
tion from  the  second  century  onwards  to 
represent  the  four  Evangelists.  According  to 
more  modern  commentators  the  four  living 
creatures  (wrongly  translated  beasts)  are  "best 

73 

6—  (22  J7) 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS   IN 

regarded  as  representatives  of  created  life  in 
its  various  aspects,  in  the  midst  of  which  God 
sits  enthroned  "  (Dr.  Gibson).  Then  there  is 
the  evil  significance  of  the  lion  as  well.  We 
get  this  on  a  Norman  font  at  Stafford,  where 
lions  are  carved  with  the  words:  "Discretus 
non  es  si  non  fugis  ecce  leones." 

The  lion  has  an  evil  meaning  when  he  is 
shown  as  being  subdued  by  some  hero,  such 
as  Samson  or  David.  It  is  sometimes  difficult 
to  recognise  which  hero  of  the  two  is  repre- 
sented, except  that  when  David  is  killing 
the  lion  a  crook,  or  harp,  or  lamb,  is  shown 
as  well;  whereas  when  Samson  is  intended 
he  may  sometimes  be  recognised  by  the  long 
hair  of  the  Nazarite,  as  on  the  Norman 
tympanum  of  Stretton  Sugwas,  Hereford. 
Samson  is  no  doubt  represented  on  the 
interesting  Norman  font  of  Darenth,  Kent, 
with  what  is  meant  for  a  jawbone,  whereas 
it  seems  to  come  from  the  thigh  of  an  ass. 
At  Darenth  the  lion  has  a  human  face. 

It  is  uncertain  which  of  the  two  is  carved 
on  a  capital  of  the  south  door  of  Iffiey,  for 
we  are  unable  to  decipher  the  object  in  the 
top  left-hand  corner. 

At  Iffiey  and  at  Barfreston,  too,  the  lion 
is  shown  with  wings.  The  matter  would  be 

74 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

less  complicated  had  the  sculptor  kept  more 
closely  to  the  descriptions  in  the  Bible,  but 
his  representations  are  far  too  conventional 
for  him  to  do  that. 

In  Judges  xiv.  6  we  read  that  "  The  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  came  mightily  upon  Samson, 
and  he  rent  the  lion,  as  he  would  have 
rent  a  kid." 

This  method  of  dispatching  the  enemy 
seized  on  the  fancy  of  the  artist  of  the  Middle 
Ages  more  than  the  Biblical  description  of 
David's  prowess,  in  1  Sam.  xvii.  35. 

There  it  is  said  of  David,  that  when  a  lion 
and  a  bear  took  a  lamb  out  of  the  flock,  "  I 
went  out  after  him,  and  smote  him,  and 
delivered  it  out  of  his  mouth  ;  and  when  he 
arose  against  me,  I  caught  him  by  the  beard, 
and  smote  him  and  slew  him." 

David  and  the  lion  are  often  represented  in 
Celtic  MSS.  and  on  Celtic  crosses. 

Both  the  scenes  we  have  described  are 
typical  of  the  power  of  Christ,  to  save  the 
Christian  "  from  the  lion's  mouth "  (Ps. 
xxii.  21),  and  from  the  power  of  our  adversary 
the  devil,  who,  as  a  "  roaring  lion  walketh 
about  seeking  whom  he  may  devour  "  (1  Pet. 
v.  8).  S.  Augustine,  in  one  of  his  discourses, 
treats  the  story  of  David  killing  the  lion  and 

77 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS 

the  bear  as  a  type  of  Christ,  when  He  descen- 
ded into  hell,  and  delivered  the  souls  out  of 
the  jaws  of  Satan. 

The  most  curious  tympanum  of  Charney 
Basset  in  Berks  is  probably  a  very  con- 
ventional example  of  Daniel  in  the  lion's  den. 
If  this  is  so,  the  lions  are  carved  in  an  unusual 
manner,  being  more  like  griffins  than  lions. 
The  fact  that  these  beasts  are  represented 
with  wings  does  not  add  any  difficulty  to  the 
view  that  they  are  lions. 

Daniel  in  the  lion's  den  is  also  carved  on 
a  tympanum  at  Shalfleet,  Isle  of  Wight,  and 
is  commonly  found  in  quite  early  work  on  the 
Continent. 

M.  de  Caumont  imagined  that  the  man 
between  two  monsters  is  expressive  of  the 
power  of  the  Faith  of  Christ  to  conquer  what 
is  evil. 


78 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    OX,    PIG,    PANTHER,    SALAMANDER 

WE  have  remarked  before  that  the  ox  and 
the  ass  are  generally  represented  together  on 
pictures  and  carvings  of  the  Nativity  and  of 
the  Adoration  of  the  Magi. 

The  ox,  or  rather  the  winged  calf,  is  a 
symbol  of  S.  Luke  the  Evangelist,  because 
the  calf  was  a  sacrificial  animal,  and  S.  Luke 
deals  especially  with  the  side  of  Christ's  life 
and  work  which  proclaims  His  Priesthood— 
the  Priesthood  of  Him  Who  was  at  the  same 
time  the  Perfect  Sacrifice.  Such,  for  instance, 
is  the  meaning  that  S.  Jerome  gives  to  the 
calf.  The  man  (S.  Matthew),  the  lion  (S. 
Mark),  the  calf  (S.  Luke),  and  the  eagle 
(S.  John)  are  generally  represented  together. 

This  symbolism  begins  rather  uncommonly 
on  monuments  of  the  fourth  century.  The 
eagle  and  the  man  are  placed  uppermost  as 
on  the  Norman  west  door  of  Rochester 
Cathedral,  where  they  support  Our  Lord  in 
glory,  and  on  the  south  door  of  Quenington 
Church,  Glos,  where  they  attend  the  Corona- 
tion of  the  Virgin.  On  the  Norman  tympanum 

81 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 


of  Elkstone,  Glos,  the  Agnus  Dei  takes  that 
place,  to  the  right  of  the  glorified  Saviour, 
which  would  naturally  be  taken  by  S. 
Matthew  ;  while  the  symbol  of  the  latter  is 
tucked  away  into  the  bottom  corner. 
On  this  tympanum  the  Evangelists  have 
inscribed  scrolls. 

The  Aston  tympanum,  to  which  we  have 
already  alluded  in  connection  with  the 
Agnus,  presents  some  difficulty.  Mr.  C. 
Keyser  thinks  that  the  beasts  which  rest  with 
their  paws  on  the  aureole  surrounding  the 
sacred  symbol  are  an  ox  and  a  griffin.  It  is 
possible  that  the  griffin-like  animal  is  the 
eagle  of  S.  John,  while  the  ox  represents  S. 
Luke.  Such  at  least  seems  to  be  the  view 
taken  by  Mr.  Romilly  Allen.  It  is  difficult, 
however,  to  decide  what  animals  are  carved 
on  the  extreme  edge  of  the  tympanum. 
They  are  not  likely  to  be  other  symbols  of  the 
Evangelists,  but  they  seem  rather  like  a  lion 
hunting  a  griffin  on  each  side.  The  symbol- 
ism of  this  would  be  the  power  of  good  to 
destroy  evil. 

Carvings  of  the  domestic  pig  are  not  so 
common  as  we  should  expect  from  our 
familiarity  with  it.  When  we  have  a  pig-like 
animal  represented  it  is  probably  a  wild  boar. 

82 


ENGLISH   CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 


On  the  tympana  at  Parwich  and  Hognaston 
it  appears  with  other  animals  as  subdued  by 
the  power  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  can 
be  told  by  its  twisted  tail,  and  in  these  cases 
it  has  not  tusks  as  a  wild  boar  has. 

The  domestic  pig  is  to  be  found  on  the 
lead  font  of  late  twelfth  century  date  at 
Brookland,  Kent  ;  perhaps  the  most  remark- 
able lead  font  we  have.  Round  the  font, 
which  is  made  of  ten  sheets  of  lead  soldered 
together,  are  two  tiers  of  arcading,  the  top 
tier  containing  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  the 
bottom  the  occupations  of  the  months  of  the 
year.  Those  from  March  to  October  are 
repeated  twice.  For  November  we  have  the 
Sagittariiis,  or  Sagutarius,  as  it  is  prob- 
ably inscribed,  and  for  December  we  have 
Capricornus. 

The  occupations  of  these  two  months  are 
somewhat  amusing.  In  November  the  man  is 
shown  knocking  down  acorns  for  his  pig, 
but,  alas,  in  December  that  same  pig  has 
to  be  killed  with  an  axe  for  the  Christmas 
festivities.  The  occupations  of  the  months 
on  this  font  were  no  doubt  copied  from  the 
calendars  at  the  beginning  of  the  MSS.  of 
the  Psalter. 

The  panther  is  very  commonly  described 

85 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS  IN 

in  the  Bestiaries.  Curiously  enough,  ancient 
authors  took  its  derivation  to  be  from  the 
Greek  word  irav  (all),  because  it  was  thought 
to  have  all  manner  of  characteristics,  and  to 
be  decked  with  all  manner  of  colours. 

It  was  symbolic  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Saviour 
of  all.  According  to  the  old  stories,  the 
panther  is  of  a  tame  and  gentle  disposition, 
being  loved  by  all  creatures  except  the  dragon. 
Three  days  after  eating  a  little  food  (of  an 
aromatic  description  probably)  it  emits  a 
sweet  smell  from  its  mouth,  which  is  attractive 
to  all  beasts.  Other  animals  are  even  healed 
of  their  diseases  by  the  panther's  breath. 
The  dragon  is  afraid  of  the  smell,  as  it 
nearly  kills  him.  There  is  a  good  representa- 
tion of  the  panther  in  a  fourteenth-century 
Bestiary  in  the  British  Museum — all  manner 
of  beasts  are  drawn  coming  to  him,  while 
below  there  is  an  illustration  of  two  dragons 
hiding  their  heads  in  the  holes  of  the  earth. 

The  panther's  sweet  breath  is  to  remind  men 
of  the  sweet  influence  of  Jesus  Christ,  Who  is 
to  draw  all  men  unto  Him,  and  deliver  them 
from  the  power  of  the  dragon. 

As  the  panther  retires  to  its  lair  and  sleeps 
for  three  days  after  food,  it  was  naturally 
a  type  of  Our  Lord's  sojourn  in  Paradise. 

86 


22a 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

Of  Him  the  Psalmist  spoke  :  "  O  how 
sweet  are  Thy  words  unto  my  throat,  yea, 
sweeter  than  honey  unto  my  mouth."  The 
dragon  is  symbolic  of  the  devil. 

The  various  colours  of  the  panther  were 
held  to  signify  the  various  attributes  of  God. 
For  Hos.  v.  14,  which  the  Authorised  Version 
renders,  "  I  will  be  unto  Ephraim  as  a  lion, 
and  as  a  young  lion  to  the  house  of  Judah," 
the  Septuagint  gives  :  "I  am  as  a  panther 
to  Ephraim,  and  as  a  lion  to  the  house  of 
Judah."  With  this  possible  exception,  the 
panther  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible. 

On  the  Norman  door  at  Alne  there  is  a 
beast  inscribed  "  Panther  a"  towards  which 
a  winged  dragon  is  looking,  instead  of  flying 
away  as  usual. 

In  a  book  on  the  Tournai  fonts  by  Mr.  Cecil 
H.  Eden  it  has  erroneously  been  stated  that 
a  salamander  is  carved  on  the  marble  font  at 
Winchester.  The  animal  which  has  been  taken 
for  a  salamander  is  really  a  lion. 

The  salamander  in  the  Hereford  mappa 
mundi  is  more  like  a  lizard  with  two  wings 
and  two  legs,  and  curious  spots  down  its 
back. 

The  inscription  there  is,"  Salamandra  dracon 
venenosa,"  a  poisonous  serpent  or  dragon. 

89 


7—  ( 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS   IN 

With  such  a  description  we  may  well  be  sur- 
prised that  the  symbolism  of  the  salamander 
is  sometimes  good,  yet  so  it  is  ! 

A  Latin  Bestiary  (c.  1200)  in  one  of  the  show- 
cases of  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  dilates 
on  its  supposed  fire-resisting  properties,  for 
it  was  thought  that  it  could  pass  through  fire 
unharmed.  Another  point  from  the  same 
Bestiary  is  that  it  infects  fruits  with  poison 
when  it  touches  them,  so  that  all  who  eat  the 
fruit  die. 

In  Slo.  3524,  British  Museum,  the  salaman- 
der is  up  a  tree  infecting  the  fruit.  Two  people 
are  near  ;  one  is  eating  the  fruit  and  the  other 
succumbing  to  the  effects. 

According  to  Mr.  E.  P.  Evans,  the  sala- 
mander is  a  small  frog-like  reptile  which 
can  secrete  poisonous  fluid  enough  to  extin- 
guish a  coal.  We  have  heard  of  no  certain 
architectural  example  of  the  salamander, 
though  Mr.  Francis  Bond  mentions  several 
fonts  which  are  reported  to  have  the  sala- 
mander on  them.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the 
mutilated  lizard  on  the  font  at  Loswithiel 
was  intended  for  one. 

This  little  reptile  was  considered  to  be  a 
type  of  the  righteous  man  who  is  not 
consumed  by  the  fires  of  temptation. 

90 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

Two  texts  are  quoted  in  this  connection, 
viz.,  Heb.  xi.  34,  where  the  author  is  writing 
about  the  heroes  of  faith  who  "  quenched  the 
violence  of  fire,"  and  also  God's  words  in 
Is.  xliii.  2  :  '  When  thou  passest  through 
the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee  ;  and  through 
the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee;  when 
thou  walkest  through  the  fire  thou  shalt  not 
be  burned  ;  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle 
upon  thee." 

It  is  curious  to  note  to  what  perverse  use 
mediaeval  writers  put  the  words  of  the  Bible. 


93 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE    SHEEP,   TIGER,   WHALE   AND    FISH, 
WOLF 

IN  old  Roman  churches  sheep  were  types  of 
the  Apostles,  as  they  gathered  round  the 
Agnus  Dei.  They  are  represented  in  bas- 
relief  under  the  vault  of  the  apse  of  these 
churches.  Sometimes  Christ  will  be  depicted 
with  a  lamb  in  His  arms,  and  surrounded 
by  sheep,  as  on  early  paintings  and  engraved 
gems  in  the  catacombs. 

Here  the  sheep  will,  of  course,  signify  the 
flock  of  Christ.  An  example  with  somewhat 
the  same  meaning,  perhaps,  may  be  seen  on 
a  Norman  capital  let  into  the  wall  of  some 
almshouses  in  Hereford.  A  ram  is  on  one  side 
of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  a  sheep  on  the 
other.  We  should  know  more  for  certain  the 
symbolism  of  this  capital,  if  we  could  identify 
the  long,  almost  fish-shaped,  object  which  is 
held  in  Our  Lord's  right  hand,  and  the  round 
object  in  Our  Lord's  left  hand — it  may  be  a 
fish  and  a  loaf  which  He  is  holding,  in  which 
case  the  reference  would  be  to  the  miracles 
of  the  loaves  and  fishes.  As  we  shall  see 

94 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


when  we  deal  with  the  symbolism  of  the 
fish,  these  miracles  are  a  type  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist. 

The  Jews,  though  not  lovers  of  Nature  in 
general,  were  lovers  of  their  flocks,  as  many 
references  to  sheep  in  the  Psalms  will  prove. 
The  chosen  people  were  God's  flock  (Ps. 
Ixxvii.  20,  Ixxiv.  1,  Ixxix.  14).  Many  other 
examples  might  be  given  from  the  Old  Tes- 
tament generally,  as  well  as  from  the  Psalms. 
Ps.  xxiii.  testifies  to  the  particular  care  of  the 
Shepherd  for  his  flock.  Is.  xl.  11  speaks  of 
God's  care  for  the  returning  exiles  :  '  He 
shall  feed  His  flock  like  a  shepherd,  He  shall 
gather  the  lambs  with  His  arm,  and  carry 
them  in  His  bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead 
those  that  are  with  young." 

The  title  of  Shepherd  is  often  applied  in 
the  Old  Testament  to  rulers,  as,  for  instance, 
to  David,  and  to  the  Ideal  King  of  Whom 
David  was  a  type. 

When  Our  Lord  desired  to  express  His  love 
and  self-sacrifice  for  His  people  nothing  came 
more  naturally  to  His  lips  than  the  words  of 
S.  John  x. 

On  the  almost  obliterated  tympanum  of 
a  door  to  the  south  of  Rochester  Cathedral 
there  is  a  symbol  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ. 

97 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 


Not  much  can  be  made  out  owing  to  the 
mutilation,  but  the  inscription  "  Aries  per 
cormia  "  (Ram  by  the  horns),  points  to  the 
sacrifice  of  Isaac  on  Mount  Moriah,  which 
was  divinely  averted  by  the  ram  caught  in  a 
thicket  by  its  horns.  The  Hand  of  the  Father 
or  Dextra  Dei  can  still  be  distinguished  as 
coming  out  of  the  cloud. 

This  subject  is  treated  rather  frequently 
on  the  ancient  crosses  of  Ireland. 

It  is  curious  to  read  that  the  tiger  of  the 
Bestiaries  is  a  sort  of  serpent,  which  is  so 
fierce  that  it  can  be  approached  by  none.  The 
hunters  wish  to  carry  off  the  tiger's  cubs,  for 
which  purpose  they  devise  the  following  plan. 
Having  ascertained  that  the  tigress  has  left 
her  lair,  they  place  mirrors  in  the  path  by 
which  she  is  likely  to  return.  On  seeing  her 
beauty  in  a  mirror,  the  tigress  forgets  all 
about  her  cubs,  and  remains  transfixed  with 
admiration  for  a  long  while.  The  hunters  then 
go  and  take  away  the  cubs  at  their  leisure. 

In  the  thirteenth-century  Bestiary  in  the 
British  Museum  (Harl.  4751)  the  tigress  is 
shown  actually  looking  in  the  mirror,  and  the 
hunter  carrying  off  the  cubs. 

The  moral  is  as  follows  :  The  tigress  repre- 
sents us  Christians,  and  the  cubs  are  our 

98 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

souls.  The  devil  will  get  possession  of  the 
latter  if  we  are  led  away  by  the  pomps  and 
vanities  of  this  world. 

Jonah  and  the  whale  are  often  found  in  the 
paintings  of  the  catacombs,  and  on  ancient 
sarcophagi  and  lamps. 

In  the  thirteenth  century  glass  of  Bourges 
Cathedral  Jonah's  deliverance  is  depicted  as 
one  of  the  types  of  the  Resurrection.  This 
symbolism,  of  course,  found  its  origin  in  Our 
Lord's  words  :  "  As  Jonah  was  three  days  and 
three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so  shall  the 
Son  of  Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in 
the  heart  of  the  earth"  (S.  Matt.  xii.  40). 
At  Bourges  Jonah  is  represented  together  with 
other  types  of  the  Resurrection,  such  as  the 
raising  of  Jairus'  daughter,  the  Pelican  in  her 
piety,  and  the  Lion. 

It  was  said  that  the  whale  was  wont  to 
cover  his  back  with  the  sand  of  the  sea,  as  he 
rested  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  In  process 
of  time  birds  would  drop  seeds  on  his  back, 
which  would  germinate  until  trees  grew  there 
at  last.  Mariners  would  come  along,  and  mis- 
take the  whale  for  an  island.  They  would 
fasten  their  ships  to  the  whale,  and  mount 
upon  his  back,  camping  out  there,  and  making 
a  fire.  At  last  the  heat  would  begin  to 

101 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

penetrate  through  the  whale's  thick  hide,  and 
he  would  plunge  into  the  water  to  ease  himself , 
with  the  result  that  the  ship  would  sink,  and 
the  sailors  would  be  drowned.  This  scene  is 
often  depicted  in  its  various  parts  in  the 
Bestiaries. 

The  interpretation  of  the  story  is  not  diffi- 
cult. The  whale  is  the  devil,  the  sea  is  the 
world,  and  the  ship  with  its  freight  of  human 
souls  signifies  ourselves.  The  devil,  by  his 
deceptive  appearance,  lures  us  to  destruction 
and  eternal  loss. 

The  whale  has  another  remarkable  charac- 
teristic. Like  the  panther,  he  has  a  sweet 
breath  when  he  opens  his  mouth  ;  but,  unlike 
the  panther's,  the  whale's  breath  has  a  bad 
interpretation.  When  the  latter  opens  his 
jaws,  and  the  odour  comes  forth,  shoals  of 
fish  come  and  enter  the  huge  jaws  which 
suddenly  close  on  them,  and  prevent  their 
escape. 

So  the  gates  of  hell  will  one  day  close  on 
heedless  souls,  and  hope  of  escape  will  be 
gone  for  ever. 

In  the  carving  at  Alne,  the  ship  and  the 
sailors  are  represented,  but  the  whale  itself 
has  been  omitted.  The  remains  of  the  inscrip- 
tion, "  aspido,"  show  what  the  artist  intended, 

102 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

though  the  word  makes  no  pretence  of  being 
the  classical  Latin  for  a  whale. 

In  Ps.  civ.  26  the  leviathan  there  mentioned 
is,  of  course,  the  whale,  but  elsewhere  in  the 
Bible  where  the  word  leviathan  is  used  it 
means  a  crocodile. 

We  might  fitly  deal  here  with  the  symbol- 
ism of  other  inhabitants  of  the  deep — with 
the  symbolism  of  the  fish.  The  fish  is  often 
represented  on  the  epitaphs  and  the  smaller 
ornamental  objects  of  the  Roman  catacombs, 
from  the  very  earliest  centuries. 

Here  it  is  symbolic  of  Christ,  or  of  the 
Christian  Faith,  because  of  an  acrostic  which 
Eusebius,  Augustine  and  others  refer  to,  on 
the  Greek  word,  foflw. 

They  took  the  letters  of  this  word,  and  made 
each  letter  the  initial  letter  of  a  separate  word 
in  the  phrase  :  IVrows  Xpto-rd?,  0eov  T/o<»  ^.WTIJP 
("  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  our 
Saviour"). 

Three  fish  were  sometimes  combined 
together  in  a  triangle,  the  meaning  of  which 
is  the  Holy  Trinity. 

On  some  of  the  early  stones  of  Scotland  the 
fish  no  doubt  symbolise  Christ.  In  some 
examples  they  are  typical  of  Christians,  in 
close  connection  with  the  waters  of  baptism, 

105 

8— (-J-J7) 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

or  with  the  teaching  to  be  drawn  from  the 
miracle  of  the  Draught  of  Fishes. 

In  one  of  the  side  chapels  in  Hereford 
Cathedral  is  a  small  shield  carved  with  a  cross. 
On  the  sides  of  this  cross  are  five  raised  circles 
or  dots  representing  loaves,  while  underneath 
are  three  fishes  all  facing  one  way.  This  is  a 
representation  of  one  of  the  miracles  of  the 
loaves  and  fishes,  which  has  always  been 
held  in  the  Christian  Church  to  have  an 
application  to  the  Holy  Communion  and  the 
Last  Supper.  Thus  S.  Augustine,  thus 
Dr.  Liddon  in  his  Bampton  lectures.  We 
quote  the  words  of  the  latter :  "  The  per- 
manent significance  of  that  extraordinary 
scene  at  Bethsaida  Julias  is  never  really 
understood,  until  Our  Lord's  great  discourse 
in  the  synagogue  of  Capernaum,  which  imme- 
diately follows  it,  is  read  as  the  spiritual 
exposition  of  the  physical  miracle,  which  is 
thus  seen  to  be  a  commentary,  palpable  to 
sense,  upon  the  vital  efficacy  of  Holy 
Communion."  Cf.  S.  John  vi. 

The  subject  of  the  miracle  of  the  loaves 
and  fishes  is  sometimes  treated  in  the  cata- 
combs, and  on  ancient  Irish  crosses.  On  the 
Norman  font  of  North  Grimston,  Yorks,  are 
represented  Christ  and  His  twelve  Apostles 

106 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

at  the  Last  Supper,  as  He  blesses  the  elements. 
Loaves  and  fishes  are  lying  before  the  holy 
company. 

One  of  the  finest  carved  Norman  fonts  in 
England  is  that  of  Castle  Frome,  Hereford. 
Here  S.  John  is  baptising  a  diminutive  figure 
of  Our  Lord.  The  Forerunner  is  nimbed  and 
wears  an  ornamented  maniple,  but  the  Saviour 
has  no  nimbus.  Above  Our  Lord  is  the 
Dextra  Dei,  representing  the  voice  of  the 
Father  at  the  Baptism,  and  also  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  form  of  a  Dove.  Four  fish  are 
carved  swimming  in  the  circular  stream  of 
Jordan. 

Tertullian  and  Orientus  make  out  the  fish 
to  be  symbolic  of  baptism ;  so,  although 
they  are  almost  unique  at  Castle  Frome, 
they  are  not  out  of  place. 

The  last  of  the  really  existing  animals  of 
which  we  shall  treat  is  the  wolf.  Naturally  it 
is  another  symbol  of  the  Evil  One.  Our 
Lord's  words  :  "I  send  you  forth  as  sheep 
in  the  midst  of  wolves,"  would  be  sufficient 
to  give  the  animal  an  evil  character  (Matt. 
x.  16),  though  it  does  not  appear  that  Matt, 
vii.  15  has  made  the  wolf  the  symbol  of  hypo- 
crisy. The  wolf  is  typical  of  stiff-necked 
people,  for  it  seems  that  it  was  thought 

109 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 

unable  to  move  its  head  from  one  side  to  the 
other.  The  wolf's  mate  could  have  cubs  only 
during  a  thunderstorm  in  May.  Other  curious 
characteristics  may  be  remarked  in  the  way 
the  wolf  hunts  for  food.  It  will  approach 
the  sheep-folds  by  night  against  a  wind,  so 
that  the  dogs  may  not  scent  it,  and  if  it  makes 
any  accidental  noise  with  its  feet,  it  will  bite 
the  offending  member  severely. 

In  the  14th  Cent.  Bestiary  in  the  British 
Museum  (Slo.  3544)  the  wolf  is  drawn  biting 
its  paw.  A  dog  is  giving  the  alarm  from  a 
fold  which  contains  three  sheep,  and  a  man 
is  sounding  a  horn  for  help  just  behind. 

It  was  thought  that  the  wolf  would  make 
a  man  lose  his  voice  if  it  sees  him  with  his 
mouth  open,  but  if  the  man  sees  the  wolf 
with  its  mouth  shut,  then  the  latter  can 
open  its  mouth  no  more.  When  hungry  it 
fills  its  stomach  with  a  ball  of  clay,  which  it 
disgorges  with  the  aid  of  its  paw  when  food  is 
forthcoming. 

Albertus  Magnus,  in  his  work  on  animals, 
states  that  when  the  wolf  is  moving  amongst 
undergrowth  it  licks  its  paws  till  they  are 
soft  and  slippery,  so  that  none  may  hear  its 
approach,  and  also  that  the  wolf  will  put  its 
paw  to  its  mouth  (much  as  small  boys  do,  we 

no 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 


suppose,  when  they  are  about  to  make  an 
unearthly  noise)  so  as  to  change  its  voice 
and  frighten  the  shepherds  by  its  curious 
tones.  It  is  thought  that  there  is  a  carving 
of  a  wolf  on  a  Norman  tympanum  at  Stockton, 
Worcester.  His  head  is  to  be  seen  on  the 
corners  of  the  fonts  of  South  Wootton  and 
Toftrees,  and  also  on  a  similar  font  at 
Shernborne.  All  these  three  churches  are  in 
Norfolk. 


113 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  CHARADRIUS,  COCK  AND  HEN,  DOVE 

IN  the  Vulgate  and  Septuagint  versions  of 
Deut.  xiv.  18  the  Jews  were  forbidden  to  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  charadrius  among  other 
birds.  Liddell  and  Scott  write  of  the  chara- 
drius as  being  a  stone  curlew,  or  thick-kneed 
bustard,  which  is  very  greedy.  The  sight  of  it 
was  supposed  by  the  Greeks  to  cure  the  jaun- 
dice. In  the  Bestiaries  this  bird  is  drawn  like 
a  white  thrush  or  plover,  though  in  some 
cases  it  is  represented  as  a  huge  bird  with 
curly  feathers,  and  long  neck  as  in  the 
mutilated  Bestiary  in  the  British  Museum 
(Vit.  D.  1). 

The  charadrius  was  thought  to  be  found 
in  the  courts  of  kings.  When  the  friends  of  a 
sick  person  wished  to  know  whether  he  would 
recover  or  not,  it  was  held  to  be  the  thing 
to  go  and  fetch  a  charadrius,  which  would 
inform  them  of  the  prospects  of  the  patient, 
by  its  actions.  If  the  patient  were  about  to 
die,  the  charadrius  would  turn  away,  but  if, 
on  the  contrary,  he  were  destined  to  live, 

114 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

the  bird  would  gaze  towards  him,  thus  attract- 
ing the  disease  to  itself.  The  charadrius 
would  then  fly  up  to  the  sun,  where  the 
poison  of  the  disease  would  be  burned  by  the 
heat.  This  bird  had  a  great  thigh-bone,  the 
marrow  of  which  was  supposed  to  restore 
sight  to  the  blind. 

The  symbolic  interpretation  refers  to  Jesus 
Christ,  Whose  soul  was  perfectly  white  and 
free  from  sin.  He  came  down  from  heaven 
and  turned  His  face  from  the  Jews,  but  looked 
upon  the  Gentiles,  and  healed  them  of  their 
spiritual  diseases.  Is  the  symbolism  of  the 
charadrius  partly  drawn  from  such  Biblical 
passages  as  Ezek.  vii.  22  and  Ps.  Ixxx.  7  ? 

The  sick  person  is  often  represented 
crowned  in  the  mediaeval  MSS.,  in  allusion 
to  the  idea  that  the  charadrius  is  found  in  the 
courts  of  kings.  In  the  sculpture  at  Alne 
(which  looks  rather  like  a  raven  pecking  out 
the  eyes  of  a  dead  man)  the  inscription, 
"  Caladrius,"  shows  what  the  interpretation 
must  be. 

The  cock  is  treated  incidentally  in  the 
Bestiaries.  A  twelfth  century  Anglo-Norman 
work  of  Philippe  de  Thaun,  called  Le  Lime 
des  Creatures,  maintains  that  the  lion  is 
afraid  of  the  white  cock,  because  it  chants  the 

117 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 

hours  of  service  in  honour  of  S.  Peter.  The 
white  cock  in  this  author  signifies  the  man  of 
holy  life.  Early  writers  say  that  the  cock  is 
significant  of  vigilance  and  liberality.  It  is 
significant  of  the  latter,  because  it  does  not 
devour  all  it  finds  in  the  way  of  food,  but 
calls  for  the  hens  to  come  and  share.  We  see 
the  cock  accompanied  by  its  mate  carved  on 
what  was  originally  a  perpendicular  bench-end 
at  Forrabury,  Cornwall. 

The  clergy,  says  a  mediaeval  poet,  are  not 
to  keep  all  their  learning  to  themselves,  but 
imitating  the  cock,  to  distribute  it  to  their 
congregation. 

The  cock  is  generally  represented,  however, 
in  connection  with  S.  Peter,  who  denied  Our 
Lord  before  the  cock  crew  twice  (S.  Mark 
xiv.  72).  Mrs.  Jameson  gives  a  picture  which 
represents  S.  Peter's  repentance,  from  a 
sarcophagus  of  the  third  century,  where  she 
understands  the  cock  to  be  a  general  emblem 
of  human  weakness  and  repentance. 

The  most  interesting  examples  that  we 
know  of  are  from  S.  Peter's  Church,  Rowle- 
stone,  Hereford,  where  almost  every  con- 
ceivable place  on  the  south  door  and  chancel 
arch  capitals  is  occupied  by  carvings  of  cocks. 
In  the  chancel,  too,  there  are  two  complete 

118 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

candelabra,  made  of  iron,  which  are  adorned 
with  fleur-de-lys  and  cocks.  These  candelabra 
are  twelfth  century,  and  are  believed  to  be 
unique. 

In  the  same  church  on  the  south  impost 
moulding  of  the  chancel  arch  two  figures  are 
carved.  One  is  an  angel  with  nimbus  and 
book,,  and  the  other  a  nimbed  man  holding 
in  his  hand  a  short  cross  and  book.  The 
peculiarity  of  these  carvings  is  that  they  are 
set  in  upside  down.  Antiquaries  have  won- 
dered whether  this  was  a  mistake  or  not.  It 
is  more  probable,  however,  that  (as  was  sug- 
gested to  the  writer  by  a  most  intelligent 
churchman  of  the  place  some  years  ago)  here 
we  have  S.  Peter,  who  was  crucified  upside 
down,  and  that  the  angel  is  put  upside  down 
too.  For  it  would  have  seemed  absurd  to 
have  carved  on  the  same  block  of  stone 
one  figure  on  his  head  and  another  on  his 
feet. 

Similar  figures  are  placed  in  a  more  natural 
position  on  the  north  capital  opposite  ;  though 
here  the  angel  has  the  short  cross,  and 
S.  Peter  holds  a  long  cross  in  his  bare  right 
arm,  and  a  book  in  his  left  hand. 

The  two  figures  do  not  both  represent 
angels,  though  a  cursory  inspection  would 

121 

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SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

make  us  think  so,  for  S.  Peter's  clothes  are 
disposed  rather  like  wings. 

On  a  bench-end  at  Sefton,  Lanes,  the  cock 
is  represented  on  top  of  the  pillar  to  which 
Our  Lord  would  be  bound  with  a  rope  for  His 
scourging.  A  poppy  head  at  Cumnor,  Berks, 
shows  a  cock  carved  together  with  other 
emblems  of  the  Passion. 

An  amusing  device  is  carved  in  several 
places  on  Bishop  Alcock's  Chapel  in  Ely 
Cathedral.  Two  cocks,  each  with  a  claw  on 
the  ground,  face  one  another,  while  a  bishop's 
mitre  and  a  circular  object  like  a  globe,  are 
placed  between  them. 

The  globe  is  being  grasped  by  each  of  the 
cocks  with  a  claw.  John  Alcock  was  Bishop 
of  Ely  between  1486  and  1501. 

The  dove  appears  in  the  catacombs  with 
a  varying  significance.  Sometimes  it  repre- 
sents the  soul  of  the  departed  Christian. 
Similarly  Mrs.  Jameson  remarks  that  in 
pictures  of  dying  martyrs  a  dove  is  shown 
issuing  from  the  mouth. 

More  frequently,  when  the  dove  bears  an 
olive  branch  in  its  beak,  it  is  connected  with 
Noah  and  the  ark,  and  its  significance  is  as 
follows.  Just  as  the  dove  could  find  no  rest 
for  the  sole  of  her  foot  save  in  the  ark,  so  the 

122 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

Christian  soul  can  find  no  safety  or  peace 
outside  the  Church. 

Sometimes  the  dove  may  mean  merely  a 
harmless  Christian  life,  for  Our  Lord  told 
us  to  be  harmless  as  doves. 

But  very  generally  the  dove  signifies  the 
Holy  Spirit.  This  symbolism  is  derived  from 
the  fact  that  He  came  down  on  Jesus  at  His 
baptism  in  this  form. 

The  baptism  of  Jesus  Christ  is  by  no  means 
uncommon.  Two  good  examples  are  at 
Adel,  Yorks,  and  Shorne,  Kent.  The  Adel 
''  Baptism  "  is  on  a  capital  of  the  chancel 
arch,  while  the  Shorne  example  is  on  a 
Perpendicular  font.  In  the  latter  case  the 
Dextra  Dei,  and  the  Dove  with  the  cruciferous 
nimbus,  are  clearly  seen.  S.  John  is  clad 
in  what  looks  like  a  dalmatic.  He  stands  in 
the  water  of  Jordan,  and  pours  the  water  on 
the  head  of  Christ,  Who  seems  to  be  kneeling 
in  the  water  in  an  attitude  of  prayer. 

Our  Lord  is  often  represented  as  a  small 
beardless  Boy  in  English  representations  of 
His  baptism,  just  as  He  is  represented  in  the 
very  earliest  Christian  art. 

The  "  Baptism  "  on  Southfleet  font,  Kent, 
is  of  similar  date  and  character.  Here,  how- 
ever, both  S.  John  and  Our  Lord  have  the 

125 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS  IN 

nimbus,  and  the  former  is  clad  in  a  camel-skin 
with  the  head  and  legs  hanging  down  almost 
to  the  Baptist's  feet.  Mr.  Francis  Bond  notes 
that  S.  John  is  similarly  clad  in  a  carving  of 
the  Baptism  on  a  sarcophagus  at  the  Lateran. 

In  many  MSS.  of  ah1  dates  the  Holy  Trinity 
are  symbolised  by  two  nimbed  man-like 
figures  with  a  dove  standing  between  them 
on  an  orb,  which  is  held  in  the  hands  of  the 
First  and  Second  Persons. 

Sometimes  Three  Figures  like  men  are 
represented,  with  a  dove  on  the  shoulder  or 
the  head  of  the  One  in  the  centre. 

This  symbolism  may  possibly  explain  the 
meaning  of  the  Bird  which  in  Romilly 
Aliens'  book  is  described  as  holding  a  circular 
disc  or  loaf  between  two  Ecclesiastics.  The 
same  author  illustrates  rather  similar  Irish 
examples,  from  the  cross  at  Nigg,  and  two  of 
the  crosses  at  Kells.  On  the  cross  of  Saints 
Patrick  and  Columba  at  Kells  the  two  human 
Figures  are  seated  upon  thrones  facing  one 
another,  and  the  Bird  or  Dove  flies  down 
and  holds  the  orb  between  them.  Each  of  the 
Figures  holds  the  orb  in  one  hand  and  a 
pastoral  staff  in  the  other. 

The  usual  method  of  representing  the 
Trinity  in  the  Middle  Ages  may  be  seen  on 

126 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 


the  perpendicular  font  at  Stalham,  Norfolk. 
Our  Lord  hangs  on  the  cross,  with  the  Dove 
over  His  head,  and  God  the  Father  sits 
crowned  and  throned  behind.  Similar 
representations  to  this  are  quite  common. 

Doves  are  seen  drinking  together  from  a 
vase  on  a  sepulchral  slab  at  Bishopstone, 
Sussex,  and  on  the  upper  surface  of  some  of 
the  Tournai  fonts  in  Hampshire,  such  as 
Winchester  and  East  Meon. 

This  idea  was  no  doubt  derived  from  the 
Catacombs,  where  it  is  common  enough. 
A  travesty  of  the  drinking  doves  is  to  be  seen 
at  Bridlington,  Yorks,  where  a  fox  and  a  goose 
are  drinking  out  of  a  vase. 

On  the  font  of  Castle  Frome  two  doves  are 
facing  one  another.  On  the  Winchester  font 
there  are  three  circles  containing  two  doves 
each.  In  one  the  doves  have  their  heads 
back  to  back,  with  a  bunch  of  grapes  sus- 
pended above  ;  in  the  central  circle  they  are 
pecking  at  the  bunch  of  grapes  ;  while  in  the 
third  circle  they  are  placed  in  a  similar 
position  to  that  which  they  occupy  in  the 
first,  only  the  bunch  of  grapes  has  gone. 
Mr.  C.  H.  Eden  conjectures  that  these  repre- 
sentations are  types  of  the  Holy  Eucharist, 
which  is  often  symbolised  on  fonts.  The  first 

129 


circle  contains  the  idea  of  Christians  before 
reception  of  the  Communion.  The  second 
contains  the  reception  itself  ;  while  the  third 
symbolises  after  Communion. 

The  doves  drinking  from  a  vase  may 
likewise  be  interpreted  of  the  Holy  Eucharist. 

A  roughly  carved  poppy  head  at  Westwell, 
Kent,  shows  a  dove  just  alighting  to  peck 
at  small  bunches  of  grapes. 


130 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE   EAGLE,    GOOSE,   PEACOCK,    PELICAN, 
RAVEN 

THE  Bestiaries  say  that  when  the  eagle  has 
grown  old  and  is  nearly  blind,  it  flies  up  into 
the  air,  till  it  scorches  its  wings  in  the  heat 
of  the  sun.  Then  it  plunges  straight  into  pure 
water  three  times,  from  which  it  emerges 
young  once  more.  A  similar  story  about  the 
eagle  is  told  in  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene. 

The  original  source  of  this  story  about  the 
eagle  is  no  doubt  partly  to  be  found  in  Ps. 
ciii.  5,  which  in  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate 
is  rendered,  "  Thy  youth  shall  be  renewed 
as  the  eagle's."  In  our  Prayer  Book  we  have 
"  making  thee  young  and  lusty  as  an  eagle." 
The  representation  of  the  eagle  renewing  its 
youth  was  supposed  to  symbolise  the  sacra- 
ment of  Baptism.  Hence  it  is  peculiarly 
suitable  on  fonts. 

An  example  of  the  same  fable  can  no  doubt 
be  seen  on  a  bench-end  in  Forrabury  Church, 
which  is  now  part  of  the  altar.  The  tail 
feathers  of  an  eagle  which  has  just  made  the 
rejuvenating  plunge  can  also  be  seen. 

133 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

The  eagle  can  look  up  at  the  sun  without 
blinking  its  eyes,  and  from  aloft  is  wont  to 
gaze  down  upon  the  waters.  When  it  sees 
the  fish  as  they  swim  below,  it  will  make  a 
dive  and  capture  them  for  itself.  The  eagle 
here  represents  Christ,  Who  can  gaze  upon 
God's  dazzling  glory  ;  Who  also  came  down 
on  earth  to  capture  the  souls  of  men  out  of 
the  sea  of  this  world. 

The  eagle  also  carries  the  eaglets  in  its 
claws  up  to  the  sun.  It  rejects  all  those  that 
cannot  look  at  its  brightness,  but  saves  and 
rears  the  others.  In  like  manner  Christ  bears 
souls  that  are  fit  for  the  vision  of  God,  into 
His  very  presence. 

Another  fable  mentioned  in  the  Greek 
Bestiary  about  the  eagle  is  as  follows.  When 
the  bird  grows  old,  its  beak  becomes  so  long 
that  it  is  likely  to  die  of  hunger.  To  obviate 
this  fate  the  eagle  will  break  off  a  portion 
against  a  stone.  So  Christians  ought  to  break 
off  all  carnal-mindedness  upon  the  rock  of 
salvation. 

The  eagle  taking  a  fish  out  of  the  water  is 
represented  on  the  jamb  of  a  Norman  doorway 
at  Ribbesford,  Worcestershire,  and  on  an 
early  cross  at  S.  Vigeans,  in  Forfarshire. 

As  we  have  already  mentioned,  the  eagle 

134 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


sometimes     stands    for    the     Evangelist    S. 
John. 

On  one  of  the  arch-stones  at  Alne  an  eagle 
is  carved  flying  alone,  with  the  inscription 
"  Ala,"  the  equivalent  of  Aquila. 

As  we  have  seen  before,  the  goose  plays 
a  prominent  part  in  the  artistic  warfare  of  the 
various  kinds  of  clergy,  and  the  orders  of 
friars.  When  geese  are  listening  to  a  fox  we 
suppose  that  they  symbolise  the  silly  souls 
who  put  their  trust  in  the  monk  or  friar,  as 
the  case  may  be.  But,  of  course,  the  meaning 
is  often  simpler  than  that.  A  good  example 
of  a  goose  is  to  be  seen  together  with  a  swan 
on  a  bench-end  at  Forrabury.  The  swan  was 
symbolic  of  the  martyrs  because  it  sings  with 
its  dying  breath. 

There  is  a  poppy-head  at  Newington,  near 
Sittingbourne,  if  the  writer's  memory  is 
correct,  carved  with  a  fox  devouring  a  goose. 

The  peacock  passes  direct  from  Pagan  to 
Christian  art.  In  the  former  it  was  Juno's 
bird,  and  was  supposed  to  represent  the  apo- 
theosis of  an  empress.  On  Christian  sepulchres 
in  the  Catacombs  the  peacock  is  symbolic  of 
immortality  ;  either  owing  to  a  belief  men- 
tioned by  S.  Augustine  that  its  flesh  was 
incorruptible,  or  perhaps  because  it  sheds  its 

137 

to— (2237) 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

tail  feathers  every  year,  to  regain  them  more 
gloriously  in  the  spring.  So  far  as  we 
know,  the  peacock  is  not  in  architectural 
representations  an  emblem  of  pride. 

According  to  the  Bestiaries,  when  the  pea- 
cock awakes,  it  cries  out  in  fear  because  it 
dreams  that  it  has  lost  its  beauty  :  so  the 
Christian  must  fear  to  lose  the  good  qualities 
with  which  God  has  endowed  his  soul. 

The  pelican,  sacrificing  itself  for  its  young, 
is  a  symbol  with  which  we  are  all  more  or 
less  familiar.  It  is  mentioned  in  Ps.  cii.  6, 
together  with  the  owl  of  the  desert  as  a  type 
of  the  despairing  soul.  Canon  Tristram  thinks 
that  this  allusion  is  due  to  the  pelican's 
mournful  attitude  which  is  assumed  for  hours 
after  it  is  gorged  with  fish.  At  such  times  it 
remains  with  its  bill  resting  on  its  breast. 

Canon  Cheyne  in  the  Encyclopedia  Biblica 
writes  that  the  common  fable  about  the  peli- 
can giving  its  life  for  its  young  comes  originally 
from  Egypt,  and  also  that  the  same  fable 
was  once  attached  to  the  vulture.  Naturally, 
the  pelican  is  an  emblem  of  the  atoning  work 
of  Christ. 

The  Bestiaries  say  that  the  pelicans  are 
fond  of  their  young,  but  when  the  latter 
grow  older,  they  begin  to  strike  their  parents 

138 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


in  the  face.  This  enrages  the  parents,  which 
kill  them  in  anger,  but  at  last  one  of  them 
comes  in  remorse  and  smites  its  breast  with 
its  beak  so  that  the  blood  may  flow  and  raise 
the  young  to  life  again. 

The  "  Pelican  in  her  piety,"  as  the  heralds 
call  this  symbol,  is  often  found  on  font  covers, 
such  as  those  of  Southacre,  North  Walsham, 
Saham  Toney,  and  Ufford.  The  brass  lectern 
of  Norwich  Cathedral  is  a  pelican,  and  there 
is  one  on  a  misericord  in  Ashford  Church, 
Kent. 

The  symbolism  of  the  pelican  seems  to  be 
connected  not  only  with  Christ's  Passion,  but 
also  with  the  Christian  Resurrection.  In  the 
painted  glass  of  Bourges  Cathedral  it  is  to  be 
seen  with  other  types  of  the  Resurrection, 
viz.,  the  lion  raising  its  whelps ;  Jonah 
delivered  from  the  whale ;  and  Elijah 
restoring  to  life  the  widow's  son  of  Sarepta. 

The  raven  is  seldom,  if  ever,  found  in  our 
English  architecture  :  if  it  be  represented  at 
all,  it  will  be  most  difficult  of  recognition. 

According  to  the  Physiologus,  young  ravens 
are  not  acknowledged  by  their  parents,  owing 
to  their  featherless  state.  This  idea  may  be 
derived  from  Ps.  cxlvii.  9,  '  Who  feedeth 
the  young  ravens  that  call  upon  Him  "  ;  and 

141 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS 


also  from  S.  Luke  xii.  24,  "  Consider  the  ravens 
.  .  .  God  feedeth  them  "  ;  and  Prov.  xxx.  17. 

When  the  raven  came  across  a  carcase  it 
was  supposed  that  it  would  eat  the  eyes  first, 
the  symbolic  significance  of  which  supposed 
fact  is  as  follows.  Confession  and  penance 
are  like  ravens,  which  pull  out  the  eyes  of 
covetousness  from  the  soul  which  is  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins. 

The  raven  is  sometimes  depicted  with  a 
dove  in  pictures  of  Noah  and  the  ark.  While 
the  latter  bird  is  thought  to  symbolise  the 
Christian,  the  former  means  the  carnal-minded 
Jews. 

In  real  life  the  raven  seldom  devours  any- 
thing but  carrion  or  badly  injured  animals. 
The  swan,  as  we  have  hinted  already,  is  a 
type  of  martyrdom  and  Christian  resignation. 
With  this  significance  it  is  represented  in  a 
MS.  of  the  fourteenth  century  in  the  Musee 
de  Cluny,  Paris,  where  among  other  virtues 
and  vices,  Humility  wears  a  helmet  adorned 
with  a  swan. 


142 


~"~"  *" 

366 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    BASILISK   OR    COCKATRICE    AND 
CENTAUR 

THE  mediaeval  ideas  about  the  basilisk  or 
cockatrice  are  so  curious  and  exaggerated, 
that  we  are  constrained  to  place  it  in  our  list 
of  fabulous  and  mythical  animals  ;  though 
in  reality  it  is  only  a  harmless  lizard,  which 
can  blow  up  its  conical  crest  with  wind. 

The  cockatrice  is  sometimes  mentioned 
in  our  Authorised  Version  of  the  Bible,  with 
an  adder  generally  as  the  alternative  transla- 
tion (cp.  Jer.  viii.  17,  Prov.  xxiii.  32  (margin), 
Is.  xi.  8,  lix.  5,  xiv.  29).  The  Revised  Version 
uses  the  word  basilisk  either  in  the  text  or 
margin  of  these  passages.  The  chief  character- 
istic of  the  basilisk  or  cockatrice  in  the  Bible 
is  its  bite  or  sting,  but  there  is  not  much  in  the 
Bible  to  give  encouragement  to  the  strong 
imagination  of  the  Bestiaries.  This  little 
lizard  is  held  to  be  the  king  of  serpents,  hence 
its  name.  The  wart  or  hood  on  its  head  was 
thought  to  resemble  a  crown .  In  the  thirteenth 
century  Bestiary  at  the  British  Museum 
(Harl.  4751)  the  basilisk  is  depicted  crowned, 

145 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS  IN 


and  serpents  are  coming  to  do  homage,  or 
else  it  may  be  starting  up  in  fear. 

The  way  the  basilisk  comes  into  the  world 
is  as  follows.  When  a  cock  is  seven  years  old 
it  will  find  itself  one  day  in  the  greatest  agony, 
because  it  is  about  to  lay  an  egg.  The  cock 
seeks  some  place  to  secrete  the  egg  in,  but  a 
toad  anxiously  watches  the  proceedings. 
When  the  cock  has  laid  the  egg,  the  toad 
comes  and  sits  upon  it  until  it  is  hatched. 
The  resulting  creature  has  the  head  of  a  cock 
and  the  body  of  a  reptile.  It  is  a  deadly 
animal.  It  will  go  and  hide  in  a  crevice  or  an 
old  cistern,  so  that  no  one  can  see  it.  For 
it  is  of  such  a  character  that  if  it  is  seen  by  a 
man  before  it  can  see  him  itself,  the  cockatrice 
must  die,  and  vice  versa. 

In  the  event  of  the  cockatrice  getting  the 
all-important  first  look,  it  will  dart  venom 
from  its  eyes,  deadly  enough  to  kill  any  living 
creature.  The  touch  of  a  cockatrice  will 
deprive  any  tree  of  the  power  of  bearing  fruit. 

A  way  has  been  discovered  in  which  its 
venom  can  be  rendered  powerless.  Since  the 
game  of  "I  spy  "  would  be  one  in  which 
the  advantage  would  be  all  on  the  side  of  the 
serpent,  the  hunter  must  equip  himself  with 
a  crystal  vase,  and  hold  it  in  front  of  his  face. 

146 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

In  this  way  the  venom  is  thrown  back  upon 
the  cockatrice,  which  succumbs  to  its  own 
poison.  This  serpent  has  great  beauty  of 
form  and  colour,  and  his  symbolism  is  bad, 
for  as  these  sage  old  moralists  affirmed, 
beauty  is  often  associated  with  badness. 

The  symbolism  is  as  follows.  The  cocka- 
trice is  the  devil,  who  has  been  the  enemy  of 
man  for  thousands  of  years,  and  has  constantly 
been  poisoning  him.  The  Son  of  the  King 
was  sorry  that  everybody  was  being  killed, 
so  he  determined  that  the  beast  should  be 
rendered  harmless.  The  King,  therefore, 
placed  His  Son  in  a  vessel  of  the  purest 
Crystal,  i.e.,  in  the  body  of  the  blessed 
Virgin  Mary. 

When  the  cockatrice  looked  on  the  vessel 
which  contained  the  Son  of  God,  it  could  do  no 
more  evil.  When  the  Son  was  laid  in  the 
sepulchre,  He  took  out  of  the  pit  all  the 
victims  of  the  cockatrice  which  had  been 
thrown  there,  so  despoiling  hell  of  its  tenants. 

Mr.  E.  P.  Evans  gives  two  illustrations  of 
a  cockatrice  from  capitals  in  the  Abbey  of 
Vezelai.  In  one  case  it  has  a  cock's  head  and 
wings,  with  the  tail  and  forepart  of  a  dragon. 
In  the  other  case  it  has  a  dragon's  head 
instead  of  a  cock's.  In  these  cases  either  a 

149 


SYMBOLISM  OF  ANIMALS   IN 


man  or  a  sphinx  is  holding  the  crystal  vase 
as  a  form  of  self-protection. 

It  is  also  represented  in  a  Flemish  Bestiary 
of  the  thirteenth  century  in  the  British 
Museum. 

In  Greek  classics  the  centaur  is  a  creature 
compounded  half  of  a  man  and  half  of  a  horse. 
It  was  descended  from  Ixion  and  Nephele, 
and  symbolic  of  all  forms  of  sensuality. 
Virgil  in  his  JEneid  writes  of  centaurs  at  the 
gates  of  hell.  Dante  places  them  in  the 
Inferno.  He  describes  them  as  armed  with 
darts,  with  which  they  shoot  at  violent  men 
who  are  condemned  to  be  in  a  river  of  boiling 
blood. 

When  Isaiah  in  xiii.  21  says  that  satyrs 
or  he-goats  (Revised  Version,  margin)  shall 
dance  in  the  desolation  of  Babylon,  he  was 
interpreted  by  mediaeval  zoologists  as  meaning 
the  centaur.  The  Sagittarius,  or  centaur,  with 
bow  and  arrow,  is  one  of  the  signs  of  the 
Zodiac. 

One  of  the  principal  stories  told  about  the 
centaur  or  Sagittarius  is  that  it  makes  war 
upon  certain  savage  men  in  the  deserts  of 
India.  These  savages  have  a  horn  in  the 
middle  of  their  foreheads,  and  are  naked, 
except  when  one  of  them  has  killed  a  lion, 

150 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

then  he  will  wear  the  skin.  They  live  in 
trees  on  account  of  their  many  enemies. 

The  war  between  the  Sagittarius  and  the 
savage  man  is  symbolic  of  the  war  between 
the  spirit  and  the  flesh.  The  savage  who  lives 
in  the  trees  signifies  the  peaceable  Christian 
who  loves  His  Creator,  and  when  he  fights 
with  the  lion  he  signifies  the  man  who  battles 
with  the  flesh  and  overcomes. 

In  the  Hereford  mappa  mundi  we  see  a 
bearded  centaur  holding  a  snake  in  his  arms, 
which  presumably  he  has  destroyed.  The 
inscription  is  "  Fauni  semicaballi  homines." 

On  the  Norman  tympanum  at  Kencott, 
Oxon,  the  centaur  is  shooting  an  arrow  into 
the  mouth  of  a  huge  dragon-like  beast,  of 
which  only  the  head  is  seen.  This  example 
is  inscribed  "  Sagittarius." 

At  Iffley  a  Sagittarius  tramples  on  a  lion 
it  has  killed  ;  and  another,  a  female,  is  shown 
suckling  its  young.  Both  these  are  on  the 
late  Norman  south  door.  On  the  font  at  Hook 
Norton,  Oxon,  the  Sagittarius  is  depicted 
driving  Adam  and  Eve  out  of  the  Garden 
of  Eden.  This  also  is  inscribed  like  the 
tympanum  at  Kencott. 

At  West  Rounton,  on  the  Norman  font  a 
Sagittarius  is  shooting  a  man  at  short  range, 

153 

ii— (2537) 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS 


while  on  the  Norman  font  at  Luppitt,  Devon, 
a  centaur  with  spear  and  foliated  tail  can  be 
made  out.  We  illustrate  two  very  interesting 
examples  of  the  Centaur  from  Gloucestershire. 
On  a  jamb  of  the  Norman  chancel  arch  at 
Beckford  he  can  be  seen  with  a  spear  up- 
right in  front  of  him.  His  hand  is  upraised, 
and  he  has  a  spotted  body  and  curiously 
dressed  hair.  Under  the  eaves  of  Elkstone  a 
Sagittarius  has  just  discharged  his  arrow  at, 
and  missed,  an  eagle.  These  two  corbels 
are  obviously  connected  ;  though  any  such 
connection  is  the  exception  rather  than  the 
rule. 

Mr.  Francis  Bond  mentions  that  the  cen- 
taur's prey,  the  savage  man  or  "  woodhouse," 
is  represented  together  with  lions  round  the 
pedestals  of  East  Anglian  fonts. 

On  the  pedestal  of  the  fine  fifteenth  century 
font  of  Saxmundham  he  is  a  hairy  savage 
with  a  club,  and  he  stands  next  to  a  lion. 
On  the  top  of  this  font  are  angels  bearing  the 
symbols  of  the  Passion,  alternately  with  the 
evangelistic  symbols,  but  no  sign  is  to  be  seen 
of  a  centaur. 


154 


CHAPTER   X 

THE    DRAGON    OR   SERPENT 

WE  are  all  of  us  familiar  with  the  representa- 
tions of  the  temptation  of  our  first  parents, 
Adam  and  Eve.  It  is  probable  that  these 
have  a  Babylonian  origin.  In  an  ancient 
Babylonian  seal  a  man  and  a  woman  are 
depicted  seated  on  either  side  of  a  tree,  and 
reaching  out  their  hands  to  pluck  the  fruit. 
A  serpent  rears  its  head  behind  the  woman, 
and  seems  to  be  whispering  in  her  ear.  Pro- 
minent critics  have  identified  this  scene  with 
the  Temptation,  of  which  we  read  in  Gen.  iii, 
though  it  is  only  fair  to  add  that  some  scholars 
will  not  admit  the  identification.  From  the 
early  paintings  of  the  catacombs  right  down 
to  rough  sculptures  of  the  Temptation,  such 
as  that  on  the  early  nineteenth  century 
tombstone  at  Llangwm,  near  Raglan,  the 
representations  vary  only  in  the  minutest 
details. 

In  this  respect  the  treatment  of  the  Tempta- 
tion presents  a  marked  difference  from  that 
of  the  Crucifixion,  which  for  doctrinal  and 
other  reasons  met  with  many  changes. 

157 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

The  significance  of  the  pictures  of  the 
Temptation  in  the  catacombs  and  elsewhere 
is  supposed  to  be  as  follows.  They  are  thought 
to  point  to  the  need  of  Christ  to  redeem  man- 
kind, owing  to  their  sins.  When  the  scene 
appears  on  fonts,  as  on  the  Norman  examples 
of  Cowlam  and  Gotham  (Yorks),  Kirkby  and 
Walton  (near  Liverpool),  Oxhill  (Warwick- 
shire), Fincham  (Norfolk),  and  East  Meon 
(Hants),  the  thought  intended  will  probably 
be  :  "  As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive  "  (1  Cor.  xv.  22).  At 
East  Meon  the  woman  is  taking  the  fruit  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  while  the  man 
has  already  begun  to  eat. 

The  Temptation  is  found  on  many  of  the 
crosses  of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  on  the 
Norman  tympana  of  Thurleigh,  Bedfordshire, 
and  Caton,  Lancashire. 

A  kind  of  tympanum  in  the  much-restored 
church  of  Bridge,  Kent,  has  the  Temptation 
on  it,  besides  a  number  of  other  panels  repre- 
senting the  following  scenes  :  The  expulsion 
from  Paradise,  the  sacrifices  of  Cain  and 
Abel,  and  the.  murder  of  Abel  ;  but  it  is 
certainly  later  than  the  Norman  period  to 
which  Mr.  Romilly  Allen  assigns  it. 

The  example  from  Cobb's  Hall,  Aldington, 
158 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

is  late.  It  was  originally  over  a  bedroom 
fireplace,  which  is  now  boarded  in.  It  is 
interesting  and  unusual  owing  to  the  number 
of  birds  and  beasts  represented  in  plaster  in 
the  foreground  and  background. 

Extraordinary  representations  of  the 
Temptation  occur  at  Vowchurch,  Hereford- 
shire, and  Llangattock,  near  Monmouth. 
At  Vowchurch  Adam  and  Eve  are  on  the 
uprights  of  the  seventeenth  century  screen  ; 
fruits  like  pears  are  suspended  above  their 
heads,  and  conventional  dragons  have  been 
carved  on  the  beam  which  runs  across. 

The  writer  considers  the  Llangattock  exam- 
ple at  least  doubtful.  The  slab  on  which  it  is 
carved  is  probably  of  eighteenth  century 
workmanship.  Two  demi-figures,  one  male  and 
one  female,  are  put  one  on  each  side  of  a  much- 
conventionalised  tree,  which  contains  in  its 
upper  branches  a  sort  of  star  within  the  cir- 
cumference of  a  circle.  Adam  seems  to  have 
a  fruit  in  his  right  hand.  Two  curious  little 
lion-like  beasts  are  carved  issuing  from  the 
tree. 

Closely  connected,  if  not  actually  identified 
with  the  serpent  of  the  Temptation,  is  the 
dragon  which  is  so  often  mentioned  in  the 
Revelation  of  S.  John  as  a  symbol  of  the 

161 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

devil.  The  dragon  is  usually  depicted  as  a 
fierce  creature  with  a  sort  of  lion's  head,  two 
wings,  two  legs,  ^and  a  twisted  tail. 

Mrs.  Jameson,  in  her  Sacred  and  Legendary 
Art,  conjectures  that  the  origin  of  the  idea 
of  the  dragon  comes  from  some  great  saurian 
which  once  really  existed. 

In  early  sculpture,  as,  for  instance,  on  the 
wonderful  Saxon  capitals  of  the  chancel  arch 
of  Selham,  Sussex,  and  on  the  Tournai  font 
at  Lincoln  Cathedral,  the  dragon's  tail  some- 
times terminates  in  a  head  or  heads.  This  is 
in  allusion  no  doubt  to  the  sixth  Trumpet  of 
Rev.  ix.  19,  where  the  horses  with  lion  heads 
of  the  Vision  have  "  their  power  in  their 
mouth  and  in  their  tails  :  for  their  tails  were 
like  unto  serpents,  and  had  heads,  and  with 
them  they  do  hurt." 

These  horse-like  creatures  here  are  dread 
ministers  of  some  judgment  of  God. 

We  have  incidentally  mentioned  the  dragon 
in  connection  with  the  panther,  and  as  attack- 
ing the  young  elephants.  It  is  also  the  enemy 
of  the  doves  which  are  to  be  found  sheltering 
on  the  Tree  of  Life.  This  tree  is  supposed  to 
grow  in  India  :  doves  lodge  in  its  branches 
and  eat  its  sweet  fruit.  The  dragon  is  afraid 
of  the  tree,  and  flees  to  whichever  side  is  not  in 

162 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

its  shadow.  If  a  dove  ventures  beyond  the 
tree  the  dragon  devours  it.  One  or  two  doves 
are  shown  falling  off  in  the  fourteenth  century 
English  Bestiary  (Slo.  3544)  in  the  British 
Museum.  The  symbolism  of  this  story  is  as 
follows.  The  tree  is  God  ;  the  shadow  is  the 
Son  ;  the  Dove  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  also 
it  seems  the  Christian  ;  and  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  represents  wisdom. 

Something  like  this  fable  may  be  carved  on 
the  Norman  tympanum  of  Dinton,  Bucks,, 
where  a  tree  is  in  the  centre,  and  dragons  are 
devouring  the  fruit  on  either  side.  According 
to  the  story,  we  must  confess,  they  ought  not 
to  be  so  close.  The  animals  cannot  be  lions, 
as  they  have  only  two  legs.  One  eminent 
authority  has  described  them  as  lions.  Under- 
neath the  tympanum  is  the  following 
inscription  in  bold  Roman  capitals— 

"  PREMIA    PRO    MERITIS    SI    QUIS    DESPERET    HABENDA 
AUDIAT    HIC    PRECEPTA    SIBI    QUE    SUNT    RETINENDA." 

"  If  any  man  despairs  of  being  rewarded  according  to 

his  deserts 
Let  him  hear  advice  which  he  would  do  well  to  keep." 

The  symbolism  of  the  tree,  generally  speak- 
ing, is  not  easy  to  decipher.  In  the  representa- 
tions of  the  Temptation  the  tree  will,  of  course, 
be  the  tree  of  knowledge  ;  when  it  is  associated 

165 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

with  birds  or  dragons  it  will  probably  be  the 
Tree  of  Life,  mentioned  both  in  the  Revelation 
and  also  in  the  Bestiaries.  In  the  latter  case, 
however,  it  might  be  meant  for  the  Bestiary 
subject  of  the  tree  which  produces  birds  as 
fruit.  These  birds  fall  off  in  time,  some  into  the 
water  and  some  on  to  the  land.  Those  which 
fall  into  the  water  live  ;  those  which  fall  on 
to  the  land,  die.  The  lesson  of  baptism  is  not 
far  to  seek. 

The  tree  on  the  tympanum  of  the  fine  south 
door  at  Kilpeck,  Hereford,  is  a  vine  with 
grapes.  This  almost  certainly  is  an  allusion 
to  Christ,  the  mystic  Vine  of  S.  John  xv, 
placed  in  this  position  because  He  likewise 
is  the  Door. 

The  symbolism  of  the  doors  of  Siston 
(Gloucestershire),  Rochford  (Herefordshire), 
and  Middleton  Stoney  will  be  similar  probably 
to  that  of  Kilpeck.  There  are  two  vines  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Tournai  font  at  S.  Mary 
Bourne,  Hants.  The  trees  on  the  tympana 
of  Dymock  and  Kempley,  Gloucestershire, 
resemble  date  palms. 

The  mutilated  square  font  at  Curdworth, 
Warwickshire,  has  a  square-faced  dragon  on 
the  eastern  side  with  an  Agnus  Dei  above 
trampling  upon  it,  in  fulfilment  of  the  promise 

166 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

made  in  Genesis,  "  It  shall  bruise  thy  head, 
and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel." 

On  the  north  side  there  is  a  dragon  whisper- 
ing into  the  ear  of  a  man  in  layman's  costume, 
or  perhaps  about  to  bite  his  ear  off.  Mr.  F. 
Bond  suggests  that,  if  the  dragon  is  whisper- 
ing, the  reference  may  be  to  Simon  Magus 
whispering  into  the  ear  of  Nero.  Below  this 
dragon  are  the  flames  of  hell.  It  is  conjectured 
that  Curdworth  font  may  be  of  Saxon  date. 

On  the  Norman  font  at  Kirkby,  near 
Liverpool,  Christ  with  His  shaft  is  bruising 
the  serpent's  head,  the  serpent  or  dragon 
being  cleverly  worked  into  a  broad  cable 
moulding  at  the  base  of  the  font. 

S.  George  the  Martyr  was  regarded  with 
peculiar  reverence  in  England  even  before 
Richard  I  placed  himself  and  his  army  under 
his  protection  for  the  third  crusade.  In  the 
thirteenth  century  S.  George  ousted  Edward 
the  Confessor  as  the  Patron  Saint  of  England. 
According  to  the  well-known  legend,  S.  George 
was  a  native  of  Cappadocia  in  the  time  of  the 
Roman  Emperor  Diocletian,  in  whose  army  he 
became  a  tribune. 

One  day  when  journeying  to  join  his  legion 
he  came  at  an  opportune  moment  to  a  city 
either  in  Libya  or  Syria.  A  dragon  had  been 

169 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 


accustomed  to  devour  the  flocks  and  herds 
of  the  citizens  until  they  were  all  exhausted. 
Failing  sheep,  the  citizens  had  to  provide 
the  monster  with  children  who  were  taken 
by  lot.  At  length  the  lot  fell  upon  Cleodolinda, 
the  daughter  of  the  king. 

The  king  at  first  naturally  felt  disinclined 
to  part  with  her,  but  at  last  the  entreaties  of 
his  subjects  forced  him  to  acquiesce  in  her 
fate.  Cleodolinda  was  sent  weeping  along  the 
way  which  was  strewn  with  the  bones  of 
earlier  victims.  S.  George  happened  to  see 
her,  and  enquired  the  reason  of  her  tears. 
He  was  exhorted  to  flee  from  the  dragon,  but 
he  boldly  stood  his  ground.  After  a  dreadful 
combat  the  saint's  lance  pinned  the  dragon 
to  the  earth.  The  monster  was  then  bound 
with  the  maiden's  girdle  and  led  back  to  the 
walls  in  triumph,  where  it  was  finally  dis- 
patched. After  this  event  the  citizens  became 
Christians  in  their  thousands,  because  they 
saw  in  S.  George  so  doughty  a  champion  of 
Christ.  S.  George  was  finally  martyred  for 
trampling  on  an  anti-Christian  edict  of 
Diocletian. 

Mr.  E.  P.  Evans  traces  the  artistic  repre- 
sentations of  the  story  from  Egyptian  bas- 
reliefs  of  Horus  slaying  Seth  Typhon,  which 

170 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

are  like  our  pictures  and  carvings  in  almost 
every  detail.  In  the  reliefs,  Seth  Typhon, 
representing  darkness,  is  shown  as  a  crocodile. 
Further,  the  same  author  imagines  that  it 
was  from  Egypt  that  the  myth  of  S.  George 
spread  over  the  whole  of  Christendom. 
April  23rd  is  the  day  set  apart  both  for 
Horus  and  S.  George. 

The  usual  emblematic  representation  of 
S.  George,  which  we  find  on  our  coins,  is 
seldom  departed  from,  though  there  is  a 
woodcut  in  Parker's  Calendar  of  the  Prayer 
Book  of  an  illustration  from  a  Bodleian  Library 
manuscript,  where  the  beast  that  is  being 
slain  is  more  human  in  appearance  than  the 
usual  dragon. 

It  is  sometimes  rather  difficult  to  ascertain 
when  we  have  a  representation  of  S.  George 
and  the  dragon,  and  when  we  have  one  of 
S.  Michael  and  the  dragon,  but  the  former  is 
generally  on  horseback,  and  of  course  without 
wings. 

On  a  sepulchral  monument  at  Conings- 
borough,  Yorks,  S.  George  is  on  foot  with 
sword  and  shield,  and  the  dragon  stands 
menacing  the  saint  with  twisted  snake-headed 
stings.  It  has  its  claws  on  a  fallen  human 
being. 

173 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 


The  tympana  of  Ruardean,  Gloucestershire, 
and  Brinsop,  Hereford,  are  almost  exactly 
similar  to  one  another  in  treatment.  S. 
George's  military  cloak  flies  back  in  the 
wind,  and  the  costume  generally  and  the 
carving  of  the  horse  are  alike  in  both  cases, 
but  the  Brinsop  example,  has  two  more  or 
less  mutilated  birds  (?  doves)  over  S.  George's 
head,  and  the  arch  stones  around  contain 
some  of  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac.  The  symbol- 
ism of  S.  Michael  slaying  the  dragon  is  based 
on  Rev.  xii.  7, 8,  and  Jude  9.  This  archangel 
was  accounted  to  be  the  special  patron  of 
the  Jews  after  the  Captivity,  and  afterwards 
he  naturally  became  the  patron  and  protector 
of  Christians.  He  is  said  to  have  appeared 
to  S.  Aubert,  Bishop  of  Avranches,  in  708, 
and  to  have  commanded  him  to  build  a  church 
in  his  honour  on  what  is  now  Mont  S.  Michel 
in  Normandy.  When  the  bishop  had  done  the 
archangel's  bidding,  Mont  S.  Michel  became 
a  favourite  place  of  pilgrimage,  and  churches 
were  built  in  other  parts  of  Europe  with  a 
similar  dedication  on  the  tops  of  high  hills. 
S.  Michael's  Mount,  Cornwall,  and  S.  Michael's 
Chapel,  Torquay,  are  familiar  instances  of  this. 

We  are  familiar  with  the  archangel  in  paint- 
ings of  the  Doom,  which  were  so  often  placed 

174 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


above  the  chancel  arch,  though  in  this  case 
he  is  carrying  out  his  special  work  of  weighing 
the  souls  to  see  whether  they  are  fit  for  heaven. 
A  relief  on  the  tomb  of  Henry  VII  in  West- 
minster Abbey  shows  him  engaged  in  both 
the  above  occupations. 

Mrs.  Jameson  gives  an  interesting  seventh 
century  example  of  S.  Michael  and  the 
dragon,  which  is  carved  in  white  marble  on 
the  door  of  Cortona  Cathedral. 

We  have  in  the  lintel  of  S.  Bees  a  carving 
which  may  possibly  be  almost  as  early  as  this, 
though  modern  opinion  places  the  work 
somewhere  in  the  eleventh  century.  It  is  the 
only  interlaced  lintel  known.  Various  au- 
thorities differ  with  regard  to  the  subject 
carved  upon  it.  It  may  be  S.  Michael ;  it  may 
be  S.  George  ;  or  again  it  may  be  Beowulf 
whom  we  have  here.  Beowulf  was  a  great 
hero  about  whom  an  Anglo-Saxon  epic  was 
written  in  the  seventh  century.  He  was  no 
doubt  a  real  person,  and  is  supposed  to  have 
been  killed  by  a  dragon  after  an  adventurous 
life,  and  buried  in  a  great  barrow  on  a 
promontory  of  Denmark. 

In  the  centre  of  the  lintel  are  the  saint  and 
the  dragon  with  twisted  tail,  and  at  the  sides 
are  rude  interlacings.  The  shape  of  the  shield 

177 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 


is  thought  to  point  to  eleventh  century 
workmanship. 

Another  early  example  is  to  be  seen  on  a 
slab  at  S.  Nicholas,  Ipswich.  The  dragon  has 
a  trebly  barbed  sting,  and  the  inscription 
proclaims  the  subject  :  "  Her  Sc(M)ihael 
fehtidh  dane  Draca  "  — "  Here  S.  Michael 
fighteth  the  dragon." 

In  the  example  on  the  lintel  under  the 
Dinton  tympanum  the  archangel  is  prepared 
to  thrust  a  cross  down  the  monster's  throat. 

The  font  of  Thorpe  Arnold,  Leicester,  shows 
S.  Michael  on  foot,  with  a  cross  on  his 
shield,  and  a  sword  in  his  hand.  He  is  attack- 
ing dragons  which  assail  him  on  both  sides. 
The  beards  of  these  dreadful  creatures  are 
exactly  like  the  teeth  of  a  saw.  Though 
the  composition  is  rough,  the  whole  scene 
is  full  of  vigour. 

A  good  number  of  representations  of 
S.  Michael  are  figured  in  Keyser's  Tympana. 

One  of  the  emblems  of  S.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist is  a  chalice  with  a  dragon  issuing  out  of 
it.  Many  stories  are  told  in  explanation  of 
this  emblem.  One  of  the  most  familiar  is  the 
one  given  by  S.  Isidore,  who  relates  that  an 
attempt  was  made  to  poison  S.  John  in  the 
sacramental  wine.  After  the  consecration, 

178 


45a 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

the  Apostle  not  only  received  the  sacred 
Element  himself,  but  also  administered  It  to 
the  congregation  without  hurt  ;  while  the 
would-be  assassin  fell  dead.  God  had  per- 
mitted the  poison  to  escape  in  the  form  of  a 
dragon. 

Another  version  of  the  story  relates  how 
the  poison  was  given  by  order  of  the 
persecuting  Emperor  Domitian. 

An  interesting  instance  of  this  emblem  is 
to  be  seen  in  a  late  chapel  in  Hereford  Cathe- 
dral. A  chalice  is  carved  with  a  large  hex- 
agonal foot  upon  a  shield,  and  a  tiny  dragon 
is  issuing  out  of  the  bowl.  Beside  the  chalice 
is  a  quill  pen,  which  signifies  that  S.  John 
was  the  Evangelist. 

Stories  about  S.  Margaret,  the  Patron  Saint 
of  Childbirth,  were  very  common  during  the 
Middle  Ages,  but  there  is  only  one  with  which 
we  shall  have  to  deal  here,  and  that  is  the 
story  of  S.  Margaret  and  the  dragon. 

The  legend  goes  that  she  was  the  daughter 
of  a  heathen  priest  at  Antioch,  but  brought  up 
in  the  country  by  a  Christian  nurse,  whose 
sheep  she  used  to  tend. 

One  day  the  governor  of  Antioch  saw  her 
as  he  passed  by.  Being  captivated  by  her 
beauty,  he  gave  orders  that  she  should  be 

181 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 

taken  to  his  palace,  where  he  desired  to  make 
her  his  wife.  S.  Margaret  rejected  his  offer 
with  scorn,  a  repulse  which  so  enraged  him 
that  he  had  her  put  to  dreadful  torture. 
When  she  was  immured  in  a  dungeon,  she  was 
tempted  by  Satan  in  the  form  of  a  dragon, 
which  finally  swallowed  her  up.  But  the 
dragon  instantly  burst,  and  the  saint  emerged 
alive.  She  was  at  length  beheaded  by  order 
of  the  cruel  governor. 

The  symbolism  of  the  story  is  of  course 
the  usual  one  of  sin  being  conquered  by  the 
power  of  the  Cross. 

There  is  much  similarity  in  Norman  repre- 
sentations of  S.  Margaret  and  the  dragon. 
The  saint's  head  and  shoulders  are  generally 
carved  as  coming  out  of  a  hole  in  the  centre 
of  the  beast,  while  her  heels  are  just  disappear- 
ing into  the  dragon's  mouth.  We  find  this 
scene  on  a  capital  in  the  church  of  Bredforton, 
Worcestershire,  and  on  the  fonts  of  Cowlam 
and  Gotham,  Yorks.  On  the  pedestal  of 
the  fifteenth  century  font  of  Docking,  Nor- 
folk, there  are  eight  female  saints,  and 
among  them  is  S.  Margaret  with  spear  and 
dragon. 

On  the  tympanum  of  Ault  Hucknall  the 
dragon  is  bursting  and  S.  Margaret  is  issuing 

182 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


forth.  This  carving  is  so  like  a  centaur 
that  many  authorities  have  taken  it  to 
be  one. 

The  authority  for  the  view  given  here  is 
Mr.  C.  E.  Keyser. 


185 
13— (2237) 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE    GRIFFIN,    HYDRA   AND    CROCODILE, 
MANTICHORA   AND    MERMAID    OR    SYREN 

THE  griffin  is  a  fabulous  bird  which  lives  in 
the  deserts  of  India,  where  it  can  find  nothing 
to  eat.  To  obtain  sustenance  for  its  young 
it  will  go  off  to  other  regions,  and  it  is  so  strong 
that  it  can  fly  away  with  a  live  ox.  The  griffin 
signifies  the  devil  who  is  ready  to  carry  away 
our  souls  to  the  deserts  of  hell. 

This  monster  is  to  be  seen  on  the  Tournai 
font  of  Lincoln  Cathedral,  and  on  Norman 
tympana  such  as  those  of  Barfreston  and 
Ridlington,  Rutlandshire.  At  Ridlington  it 
seems  to  be  fighting  with  a  lion.  At  Barfreston 
a  tiny  griffin  is  placed  in  the  right-hand  bottom 
corner  of  the  tympanum,  which  contains  Our 
Lord  in  glory,  a  sphinx,  a  mermaid,  angels 
and  crowned  heads. 

In  heraldry  and  in  the  Bestiaries  the  griffin 
has  the  forepart,  beak  and  claws  of  an  eagle, 
and  the  hinder  part  of  a  lion  ;  but  the  archi- 
tectural examples  are  more  like  animals  than 
birds. 

The   hydra   (Greek   ewSpis)   was    not    like, 

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ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 

except  in  name  to  the  mythical  monster  of  the 
classics,  which  was  killed  by  Hercules  near 
the  Lerneau  lake,  but  it  probably  is  the  water- 
snake.  The  Greek  word  means  "  ot'ter  "  as 
well — indeed,  there,  is  a  close  etymological 
connection  between  "  otter  "  and  "  hydra." 
The  following  fable  is,  therefore,  told  of  both 
the  otter  and  the  water-snake.  It  is  said  that 
the  hydra  lives  in  the  marshes  where  the 
crocodile  also  lives.  These  beasts  are  on  terms 
of  bitterest  enmity.  The  hydra  wishes  to 
destroy  the  crocodile,  and  so  devises  the 
following  plan.  When  the  latter  is  asleep,  the 
hydra  rolls  itself  into  damp  mud  till  its  look 
is  indistinguishable,  and  then  makes  its  way 
into  the  mouth  of  the  crocodile,  which 
swallows  it  unawares,  and  instantly  bursts 
asunder. 

The  hydra  is  a  type  of  Christ,  the  crocodile 
of  hell,  and  the  whole  story  symbolises  Our 
Lord's  Resurrection  which  was  the  forerunner 
of  the  Resurrection  of  all  believers. 

In  the  mappa  mundi  at  Hereford  the 
mantichora  is  placed  on  the  opposite  side  of  a 
tree  to  the  tiger,  and  the  inscription  which 
the  former  fabulous  beast  bears  there  is  drawn 
directly  from  the  Bestiaries.  It  is  said  to  be 
a  native  of  India.  It  has  three  rows  of  teeth, 

191 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

the  face  of  a  man,  grayish  eyes  ;  its  colour 
is  the  colour  of  blood  ;  its  body  is  like  a  lion's  ; 
its  tail  like  a  scorpion's  ;  its  voice  like  that 
of  a  sibyl. 

The  mantichora  is  mentioned  by  the  Greek 
writer  Ctesias  of  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  and 
also  by  Pliny  in  his  Natural  History,  where  the 
additional  details  are  given,  that  its  teeth 
fit  together  like  those  of  a  comb,  and  that  it 
is  particularly  fond  of  human  flesh.  The  word 
mantichora  is  connected  with  the  Persian 
word  mard-khora,  which  means  "  man-eater." 

Mr.  R.  Allen  figures  a  sepulchral  stone  from 
Meigle,  Perthshire,  where  a  mantichora  is 
carved  in  profile.  It  has  a  long  human  nose, 
and  is  pursuing  a  naked  man,  who  is  looking 
back  in  unpleasant  anticipation  of  his  fate. 

There  is  another  clear  instance  of  the  same 
fabulous  beast  on  one  of  the  arch-stones  of 
the  Kilpeck  door,  where  we  can  clearly  see 
the  bearded  face,  the  lion's  paws,  and  mane, 
and  the  peculiarly  fat  tail  curled  between  its 
legs,  which  must  represent  the  scorpion's  tail. 
It  seems  to  be  listening  for  any  signs  of  its 
prey,  but  there  is  nothing  edible  quite  near, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  dragons  and 
grotesque  heads. 

A  careful  scrutiny  of  other  arch-stones,  etc., 

192 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

would  no  doubt  discover  more  examples. 
Much,  though  possibly  insufficient,  attention 
has  already  been  paid  to  Norman  tympana, 
but  the  animals  of  the  arch-stones  have  as  yet 
been  thought  too  small  or  too  difficult  to 
receive  adequate  attention  from  competent 
archaeologists .  What  to  us  often  seems  a 
nearly  hopeless  and  confused  riddle  was  in 
the  Middle  Ages  somewhat  easily  interpreted 
—or  else  the  figures  would  not  have  been 
carved  where  they  were. 

The  mermaid  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  syren 
in  the  Bestiaries — it  is  half  woman,  half  fish  ; 
but  there  is  another  sort  which  is  half  woman, 
half  bird.  In  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate 
versions  of  Is.  xiii.  21  syrens  are  mentioned 
as  being  destined  to  dwell  among  the  ruins  of 
Babylon.  The  syren  was  reputed  to  be  death- 
bearing  :  it  sang  at  the  approach  of  a  storm, 
but  wept  in  fine  weather.  In  the  Odyssey, 
Book  xii,  we  read  that  Odysseus  was  charmed 
by  their  voices  as  his  ship  went  by  the  island 
of  the  syrens.  So  much  so  that,  bound  to 
the  mast  though  he  was,  he  tried  to  get  to 
them,  whilst  his  men,  whose  ears  had  been 
filled  with  wax,  restrained  him  from  his 
rashness,  and  bound  him  still  more  closely. 
Homer  knows  only  of  two  syrens,  but  Plato 

197 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 


increases  the  number  to  eight.  In  the  Bes- 
tiaries it  is  rather  their  playing  on  various 
instruments  and  not  their  singing  which  is 
especially  noted. 

When  the  hapless  voyager  is  in  their 
clutches,  he  is  slain  ;  and  the  island  where 
they  dwell  is  full  of  the  bones  of  foolish  men, 
who  have  first  been  charmed  to  sleep  and  then 
destroyed. 

The  adventures  of  Odysseus  with  the  syrens 
were  depicted,  and  it  was  thought  that  the 
ship  in  its  Christian  application  meant  the 
Church.  The  mast  was  the  Cross  of  Christ, 
to  which  the  faithful  must  cling  tightly  if  they 
are  to  conquer  temptation,  and  the  syrens  are 
our  temptations  on  the  sea  of  life.  In  a  MS. 
in  the  Musee  de  Cluny,  Paris,  among  repre- 
sentations of  virtues  and  vices,  one  of  lust 
has  a  syren  on  her  shield. 

Sometimes  the  idea  will  be  varied,  and  the 
syren  will  tempt  a  man  by  offering  him  a  fish, 
as  in  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  century  Bes- 
tiaries in  the  British  Museum  (Harl.  4751,  and 
Slo.  3544),  and  in  the  church  at  Civaux, 
France. 

In  the  mappa  mundi  a  mermaid  is  drawn 
in  the  centre  of  the  Mediterranean,  just  north 
of  Crete,  and  the  Labyrinth. 

198 


14— (2237) 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

There  is  also  a  good  carving  of  one  on  a 
misericord  in  the  choir  of  Bristol  Cathedral, 
where  a  mermaid  with  both  hands  upraised 
is  placed  between  a  dragon  and  a  winged  and 
bearded  man,  the  latter  having  hold  of  her 
tail.  The  two  seem  to  be  attacking  her. 

There  is  a  mermaid  at  the  feet  of  the 
glorified  Christ  at  Barfreston,  and  another 
on  the  eastern  capital  of  the  Norman  door  of 
Nately  Scures,  Hants.  Her  long  plaited  hair, 
arm  and  tail  and  mutilated  face  all  in  low 
relief  can  be  distinguished  with  care  in  the 
photograph.  She  seems  to  be  swimming  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  among  the  weeds. 

At  Stow  Longa,  Huntingdon,  the  tympanum 
has  a  mermaid  with  long  hair  and  hands  up- 
raised. She  is  in  the  middle  of  two  animals, 
one  of  which  is  possibly  the  Agnus  Dei,  as 
the  foreleg  is  bent  up  as  if  to  support  a  cross, 
though  the  tail  seems  to  be  too  much  floriated. 

On  the  other  side  there  is  an  unknown 
animal  with  its  forefeet  practically  touching 
an  altar.  No  satisfactory  interpretation  of 
this  extraordinary  composition  has  yet  been 
given.  On  the  fonts  of  Anstey,  Herts,  and 
S.  Peter's,  Cambridge,  are  mermen  grasping 
their  tails.  In  heraldry,  Mermen  are  called 
Tritons. 

203 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE    SPHINX,   TERREBOLEN,    UNICORN, 
SERRA,    REMORA,    AND    PHCENIX 

THE  fabulous  Sphinx  seems  to  have  had  her 
original  home  in  Egypt,  and  to  have  symbol- 
ised the  annual  overflow  of  the  river  Nile. 
According  to  Herodotus,  many  representa- 
tions of  her  were  to  be  found  there  in  ancient 
days.  She  was  sculptured  with  the  head  of 
a  woman,  and  the  body  of  a  lion. 

She  passes  from  Egypt  into  Greece,  where 
she  is  found  in  Greek  tragedies  propounding 
a  riddle  to  the  Thebans,  who  are  killed  for 
not  being  able  to  guess  it.  (Edipus  is  at  last 
successful,  and  the  Sphinx  then  destroys 
herself.  Augustus  had  a  carving  of  a  sphinx 
on  his  seal  to  symbolise  the  advantage  of 
silence. 

On  comparing  the  curious  carving  on  the 
fifteenth  century  font  of  Upavon,  Wilts,  with 
a  small  drawing  in  the  mappa  mundi,  we  were 
able  to  discover  that  the  Upavon  example, 
which  is  carved  just  below  a  lion,  must  be  a 
sphinx.  According  to  the  mappa  mundi,  the 
sphinx  has  the  wings  of  a  bird,  the  feet  of  a 

204 


54« 


* 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE 


serpent  or  reptile,  and  the  face  of  a  girl. 
("  Spinx  avis  est  penna,  serpens  pede,  fronte 
puella.")  The  only  considerable  difference 
between  the  example  at  Upavon  and  that  on 
the  mappa  is  that  in  the  latter  the  sphinx 
seems  to  have  two  forelegs,  and  in  the  former 
two  hind  legs.  The  tail  at  Upavon  is  very 
curious,  just  like  a  fox  terrier's  shortened  tail. 

An  illustration  of  a  sphinx  is  given  by 
Mr.  E.  P.  Evans,  from  a  capital  in  the  Abbey  of 
Vezelai.  Here  a  man  is  riding  on  a  dragon-like 
basilisk,  and  the  sphinx  (here  with  four  legs)  is 
holding  a  crystal  to  beat  back  the  basilisk's 
venom. 

Mr.  Evans  gives  as  a  meaning  of  this 
carving  the  idea  of  spiritual  knowledge  and 
strength  overcoming  evil. 

Most  curious  creatures  are  the  terrebolen, 
which  can  fairly  come  into  this  book  only 
because  they  have  a  place  in  the  Bestiaries. 
The  terrebolen — a  name  corrupted  from 
Trvpo/36\oi  \i0ot  (or  fire  casting  stones)  are 
also  called  in  the  Bestiaries  igniferi  lapides. 

They  were  stones  found  in  a  certain  moun- 
tain in  the  East,  and  they  are  both  male  and 
female. 

So  long  as  they  are  kept  apart,  they  remain 
cool,  but  when  they  are  brought  near  one 

209 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 

another,  they  emit  fire.  The  symbolism  of 
animal  love  is  very  naturally  drawn  from  this 
fable,  and  men  are  exhorted  to  live  chaste 
and  devoted  lives  in  consequence,  and  to 
avoid  carnal  temptations. 

At  Alne  the  terrebolen  are  carved  as  human 
figures  scantily  draped  with  their  left  hands 
upraised  and  their  right  hands  across  their 
waists,  while  the  mountain  behind  has  burst 
into  flames. 

In  a  tenth  century  miniature  at  Brussels 
they  are  shown  as  two  stones  in  the  hand  of 
a  woman,  one  bursting  into  flame.  A  man  is 
holding  out  his  hand  for  the  stones. 

We  have  sometimes  thought  that  the  Adam 
and  Eve  carving  at  Llangattock,  near  Mon- 
mouth,  may  really  be  meant  for  Terrebolen, 
but  no  examples  of  these  human  stones  can 
be  cited  from  anything  like  so  late  a  period. 

The  story  about  the  unicorn  is  one  of  the 
strangest  in  the  strange  pages  of  the  Bes- 
tiaries. It  is  said  to  be  a  small  animal  with 
the  body  of  a  horse,  the  head  of  a  stag,  the 
feet  of  an  elephant  ;  and  it  has  one  long 
straight  horn  four  feet  in  length.  The  unicorn 
is  at  enmity  with  the  elephant,  and  in  the 
conflict  between  them  the  latter  is  often  killed 
by  the  sharpness  of  its  adversary's  horn. 

210 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


Hunters  are  exceedingly  desirous  of  captur- 
ing the  unicorn,  and  yet  it  is  so  fierce  that 
they  dare  not  approach  near.  To  gain  their 
object  they  have  recourse  to  the  following 
plan.  They  ask  a  chaste  virgin  to  deck  herself 
in  all  her  beautiful  ornaments,  and  then  they 
set  her  in  the  middle  of  a  forest.  Directly 
the  unicorn  sees  her,  it  comes  and  puts  its 
head  into  her  lap,  where  it  is  easily  captured. 
The  captive  is  afterwards  taken  off  to  the 
king's  palace,  where  the  hunters  receive  a 
great  reward.  In  some  Bestiaries  the  virgin 
is  shown  standing  and  not  seated.  The  uni- 
corn's horn,  which  is  mentioned  in  Ps.  xxii.  21 
'  Thou  hast  heard  me  also  from  the  horn , 
of  the  unicorns,"  was  supposed  to  be  a  safe- 
guard against  poisoning,  as  well  as  a  dangerous 
weapon  of  attack. 

It  is  curious  that  the  unicorn  is  made  to 
stand  for  so  sacred  a  subject  as  the  Incarna- 
tion of  our  Saviour  :  "  the  horn  of  salvation 
in  the  house  of  His  servant  David."  Many 
desired  to  see  Him,  but  none  could  bring  Him 
to  earth,  save  the  Virgin  Mary,  in  whose 
spotless  body  He  abode.  There  is  a  carving 
of  this  fable  in  S.  Botolph's  Church,  Boston. 
A  unicorn  may  be  roughly  carved  on  a  poppy 
head  at  Westwell,  Kent,  but  on  the  other 

215 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS  IN 

hand  the  position  of  the  forefoot  makes  the 
animal  look  more  like  a  horned  Agnus  Dei. 

There  is  a  unicorn  also  on  a  panel  of  the 
perpendicular  font  of  Southfleet,  Kent,  which 
has  cloven  hoofs  (instead  of  an  elephant's 
feet)  a  mane,  and  fierce-looking  jaws.  It  is 
resting  back  upon  its  haunches.  This  repre- 
sentation not  only  may  recall  the  fact  of  the 
Incarnation,  but  may  bear  witness  to  the 
purity  of  life  which  ought  to  be  characteristic 
of  all  who  in  baptism  are  united  to  their 
incarnate  Lord.  The  one  horn  has  been  held 
to  signify  the  oneness  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  and  the  small  size  of  the  animal  the 
extreme  condescension  and  humility  of  Our 
Lord. 

Mr.  Jameson  says  that  when  the  unicorn 
is  used  in  connection  with  certain  saints,  it  is 
an  emblem  of  female  chastity.  It  is  appro- 
priate especially  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 
and  to  S.  Justina,  the  pure  virgin  martyr  of 
Antioch. 

The  unicorn  of  the  Bible  is  probably  a 
wild  ox,  or  European  bison.  The  idea  that 
it  had  one  horn  is  probably  due  to  the  Septua- 
gint,  which  translates  the  Hebrew  word  by 
/jiovo/cepw .  Its  horn  was  the  symbol  of  power 
and  might,  and  it  is  thought  that  it  may 

216 


58a 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 


possibly    have    been    the    ancestor   of    our 
domestic  cattle. 

The  serra  is  a  small  sea  monster  with  the 
head  of  a  lion,  and  the  tail  of  a  fish.  It  has 
great  wings  and  spreads  them  out  so  that  it 
may  try  to  overtake  ships  by  their  aid.  But 
after  going  some  distance  it  grows  weary,  and 
disappears  beneath  the  waves.  This  creature 
signifies  the  man  with  good  intentions,  who 
is  not  strong  enough  to  keep  them.  In  a 
thirteenth  century  Bestiary  in  the  British 
Museum  (Vit.  D.  1)  it  is  contrasted  with  the 
man  who  endures  to  the  end,  and  on  that 
account  will  be  saved.  In  a  fourteenth 
century  MS.  in  the  same  place  (Slo.  3544)  the 
serra  is  figured  pursuing  a  boat.  Its  wings  are 
like  nothing  more  than  a  huge  open  umbrella, 
held  point  downwards. 

A  somewhat  similar  creature  is  the  remora, 
which,  though  only  a  tiny  fish,  can  keep  a  ship 
steady  by  fastening  itself  on  to  the  keel.  It 
is  therefore  typical  of  Christ,  Who  will  pre- 
vent our  being  capsized  among  the  tempta- 
tions of  this  world.  Pliny,  according  to  Mr. 
Evans,  supposed  that  the  fate  of  the  battle 
of  Actium  was  decided  by  a  remora  holding 
on  to  the  keel  of  Antony's  ship,  and  preventing 
it  going  into  action. 

221 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS   IN 


It  was  fabled  that  the  phoenix,  the  last  of 
the  fabulous  creatures  that  we  shall  deal  with, 
was  a  bird  which  lived  in  India  or  Arabia. 
It  had  a  crest  like  a  peacock,  a  red  breast 
and  azure  body.  When  it  was  500  years  old 
it  flew  to  Mount  Lebanon,  and  filled  its  wings 
with  aromatic  spices  and  gums.  Thence  it 
hastened  to  Heliopolis,  where  it  burned  itself 
to  death  on  the  altar.  The  priest  would  come 
presently  to  remove  the  ashes,  and  he  would 
discover  a  very  sweet-smelling  worm,  which 
in  three  days  became  a  young  bird,  and  the 
next  day  was  fully  grown. 

The  phoenix  is  a  symbol  of  Christ,  Who 
said  in  John  x.  18  :  "I  have  power  to  lay  it 
(My  life)  down,  and  power  to  take  it  again." 
Its  sweetness  represented  the  savour  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments.  Another  version 
of  the  story  declares  that  at  Lebanon  the 
phcenix  builds  itself  a  nest  in  a  tree,  and  then 
flies  up  to  the  sun,  so  as  to  bring  down  fire 
with  which  it  may  set  itself  and  its  nest  alight. 
On  the  third  day  it  rises  from  its  ashes. 
So  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  grave  on  the 
third  day. 

The  story  about  the  phcenix  was  derived 
originally  from  the  classics.  It  is  found 
in  Herodotus'  history.  So,  too,  Ovid  in 

222 


ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE 

his  Metamorphoses  (xv.  392)  alludes  to  its 
self-recreation,  and  the  story  is  copied  as  an 
argument  for  the  Resurrection  by  Tertullian 
and  Ambrose,  though  other  fathers  throw 
doubt  on  the  story.  Mr.  E.  P.  Evans  states 
that  the  phoenix  was  sculptured  on  pagan 
cinerary  urns.  In  the  Septuagint  version  of 
Ps.  xcii.  !!>  "  the  righteous  shall  flourish  like 
a  palm  tree,"  it  is  uncertain  whether  phcenix 
or  palm  tree  was  meant,  as  the  Greek  word 
is  precisely  the  same  for  both. 

Bede  took  the  analogous  passage  of  Job 
xxix.  18  to  mean  :  '  I  shall  multiply  my 
days  as  the  phcenix,"  and  the  Revised  Version 
margin  suggests  the  same  rendering.  The 
confusion  in  the  Greek  translation  is,  of 
course,  due  to  the  ambiguity  of  the  original 
Hebrew. 

Curiously  enough,  the  palm  tree,  which  had 
considerable  symbolic  significance  among  the 
Jews  owing  to  its  fruitfulness  and  beauty, 
is  associated  in  early  Christian  art  with  the 
phcenix.  Thus,  on  a  glass  vessel  in  the 
Vatican  Library  there  is  a  nimbed  phcenix 
on  a  palm  tree,  together  with  figures  of  Our 
Lord  and  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul.  Similar  scenes 
were  depicted  in  the  mosaics  of  Roman 
churches.  We  have  heard  of  no  absolutely 

225 


SYMBOLISM   OF  ANIMALS 

certain  representation  of  the  phoenix  in 
English  architecture,  and  the  difficulty  of 
finding  one  is  intensified  by  the  great  simi- 
larity of  the  carvings  of  all  birds  to  one 
another. 

Mr.  Romilly  Allen  thinks  it  possible  that 
the  bird  sometimes  carved  over  the  head  of 
Christ  in  Irish  Crucifixions  may  be  a  phoenix, 
if  it  be  not  indeed  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  form 
of  a  dove.  The  bird  in  question  on  these  crosses 
has  a  human  head.  The  phoenix  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  glass  of  Le  Mans  and  Tours  Cathedrals 
in  France,  and  on  the  door  of  S.  Laurence, 
Nuremberg.  Other  examples  are  to  be  found 
at  Magdeburg  and  Bale.  It  ought  to  be  pos- 
sible to  discover  one  after  diligent  search  in 
our  architectural  carvings. 


226 


60rt 


CHAPTER    XIII 

CONCLUSION 

WE  have  now  brought  to  a  close  our  all 
too-incomplete  task  of  trying  to  throw  more 
light  on  the  meanings  of  the  many  curious 
zoological  carvings  to  be  seen  in  our  Norman 
and  later  churches,  particularly  in  the  middle 
and  South  of  England.  It  is  the  writer's  hope 
that  this  little  book  may  help  to  popularise 
the  study  somewhat,  and  to  induce  others  who 
are  provided  with  a  sharp  pair  of  eyes  to  see 
what  they  can  discover  for  themselves. 

The  most  useful  adjunct  for  such  a  study 
will  be  a  camera  which  is  capable  of  being 
racked  out  to  a  considerable  extent — it  need 
not  be  larger  than  a  quarter-plate — and  really 
good  lenses  of  different  focal  lengths.  A  poor 
lens  may  do  excellently  for  many  ordinary 
purposes,  but  for  work  of  this  character  an 
anastigmat  is  almost  essential.  A  telephoto 
lens  again  will  be  found  most  useful.  No 
photograph  could  have  been  taken,  e.g.,  of  the 
hyena  high  up  on  one  of  the  tower  capitals 
of  Alton  without  its  aid.  The  writer  has  found 

229 


SYMBOLISM    OF    ANIMALS 


the  inexpensive  "  Adon "  of  Messrs.  Dall- 
meyer  to  do  excellent  work,  though  of  course 
its  slowness  is  a  disadvantage  when  compared 
with  higher  priced  lenses.  If  our  readers  will 
pursue  the  study  of  animal  symbolism  they 
will  find  it  most  fascinating  ;  and  there  will 
be  plenty  for  them  to  discover  for  themselves, 
for  the  field  has  not  many  workers  in  it  as  yet. 


230 


TABLE   OF    PHOTOGRAPHS 


la      Yarnton, 
Oxford 

lb      Sefton,  Lanes 

2a     Barfreston, 
Kent 

2b 

Do.       do. 

3a 
3b 

Headcorn, 
Kent 
Ashford,  Kent 

4a 
46 

Kilpeck, 
Hereford 
Do.       do. 

5a 
5b 

Clifton  Hamp- 
den,  Oxon 
Barfreston, 
Kent 

6a 

6b 
la 
7b 
8a 

Lostwithiel, 
Cornwall 
Forrabury, 
Cornwall 
Elkstone, 
Gloucester 
Kilpeck, 
Hereford 
Barfreston, 
Kent 

8A 
9a 

Lostwithiel, 
Cornwall 
Childrey, 
Berks 

9b 

Alton,  Hants 

lOa 

Hereford  Ca- 
thedral 

Panel  of  fifteenth  century  reredos  ;    visit 

of  Magi  to  Infant  Saviour.    Notice  ox 

and  ass. 
Sixteenth  century  bench-end  ;  camel  and 

rider. 
Medallions    of      twelfth    century    door ; 

bears  robbing  hive,  bear  playing  harp 

while  owner  dances,  etc. 
David  or  Samson  and  lion  ;   hounds  after 

hare,  etc. 
Perpendicular  screen ;    boars  or  pigs. 

Perpendicular    misericord ;     pigs    eating 

acorns. 
Corbels,  c.  1140  A.D.  ;    stag's  head,  dog 

and  hare. 
Corbels    under    western    string    course ; 

elephant's  head  with  a  man  held  in  its 

trunk,  serpents,  ram,  etc. 
Early  fragment  in  north  wall ;    hunter 

with  hounds  and  wild  boar. 
Carving  on  interior  of  north  wall ;    man, 

fox,  and  hares  (?).     One  hare  is  being 

carried  in  a  bucket. 
Fourteenth  century  font ;     Satan    with 

serpent  on  head  ;   dog  catching  hare. 
Bench-end,   now  part   of  pulpit ;     hart 

searching  for  dragon,  or  devil  (?). 
Norman  corbels  ;  stag  and  greyhound. 

Norman  corbels  on  north  wall ;    horse, 

eagle,  stag. 
Twelfth  century  south  door ;     man  on 

horseback ;    men  shaking  hands,  one 

pointing  to  a  stone. 
Fourteenth  century   font  ;    hunter   with 

hawk  and  hound. 
Spandrel    of    Easter    sepulchre ;      dogs 

worrying    hedgehog,    which    is    eating 

grapes. 
Norman  capital  of  tower  ;   hyena  gnawing 

foliage. 
Roof   of    Perpendicular  cloister  ;    hyena 

devouring  corpse. 

231 


TABLE    OF    PHOTOGRAPHS 


106 

Upleadon, 

Norman  capital  ;    two  hyenas   (or  lions) 

Gloucester 

attacking  a  crowned  head.     Note  the 

floriated  tails. 

\la 

Aston,  Here- 

Norman door  ;    Agnus  Dei,  S.  Luke  and 

ford 

S.  John  (?). 

116 

Kilpeck,  Here- 

Norman corbels  ;     Agnus   Dei  and   gro- 

ford 

tesque 

12a 

S.  Nicholas' 

Norman  tympanum  ;   Agnus  Dei. 

Church, 

Gloucester 

126 

Beckford, 

Norman   tympanum  ;     cross   in   centre  ; 

Gloucester 

horned     animals     in     adoration     (one 

perhaps   is   Agnus   Dei)  ;     a  bird   and 

circle  above  cross. 

13a 

Preston, 

Norman  tympanum  ;    Agnus  Dei. 

Gloucester 

136 

Upleadon, 

Norman  tympanum  ;  Agnus  in  medallion, 

Gloucester 

animals  with  floriated  tails  on  either 

side.     That    on    the    right    may    be 

hyena  with  corpse. 

14a 

Elkstone, 

Norman   tympanum  ;     Christ   in   Glory, 

Gloucester 

Agnus    Dei,    symbols    of    Evangelists, 

three  of  them  bearing  inscribed  scrolls  ; 

Alpha   and    Omega    on   the    Book   in 

Christ's  left  hand  ;    Dextra  Dei  above, 

later  in  date. 

146 

Southneet, 

Sixteenth  century  font  ;   Agnus  Dei. 

Kent 

15a 

Sefton,  Lanes 

Sixteenth  century  bench-end  ;  antelopes. 

156 

Westwell, 

Perpendicular  poppy-head  ;    Agnus  Dei, 

Kent 

or  unicorn. 

16a 

Castle  Frome, 

Twelfth   century   font  ;      S.    Mark    and 

Hereford 

S.  John. 

166 

Charney    Bas- 

Norman tympanum  ;  Daniel  with  griffin- 

set,  Berks 

like  lions. 

\la 

Church  Hand- 

Norman  door  ;    S.  Peter  dictating  Gospel 

borough, 

to  S.  Mark  ;   Agnus  Dei. 

Oxon 

lib 

Rochester 

Norman    west    door  ;     Christ    in    Glory, 

Cathedral 

symbols  of  the  Evangelists. 

18a 

Fownhope, 

Norman  tympanum  in  west  wall  ;   Virgin 

Hereford 

and  Child  ;    S.  John  and  S.  Mark. 

186 

Darenth,  Kent 

Norman  font  ;    Samson  with  jawbone  of 

ass,  and  man-headed  lion. 

19a 

Iffley,  Oxon 

Norman  south  door  ;    David  or  Samson 

and  lion. 

196 

Stretton, 

Norman  door  in  interior  of  north  wall  ; 

Sugwas, 

Samson  and  lion. 

Hereford 

232 


TABLE     OF    PHOTOGRAPHS 


20a      Ely  Cathedral 

206      Lostwithiel, 
Cornwall 

2\a      Minstead, 
Hants 

21 b      Shobdon, 
Hereford 

22a      Alne.  York- 
shire 

226     Castle  Frome, 
Hereford 

23a      Alne.  York- 
shire 


236 
24a 
246 


28a 
286 

29a 
296 
30a 
306 


Do. 
Do. 
Do. 


do. 
do. 
do. 


25a      Almshouses, 
Hereford 

256      Shobdon, 
Hereford 

26a      Hereford 

Cathedral 

266      Corhampton, 
Hants 

27a      Alne,  York- 
shire 

276      Rowlestone, 
Hereford 


Rowlestone 
Sefton,  Lanes 


Forrabury, 
Cornwall 
Ely  Cathedral 

Castle  Frome, 

Hereford 
Shorne,   Kent 


Lion    with    head    of    man,    on    a    stone 

bench-end. 
Fourteenth  century  font  ;    devil  and  two 

lions  passant  (early  arms  of  England). 
Norman    font  ;      Christ's    Resurrection  ; 

two  lions  with  one  head  between  them. 
Twelfth  century  font  ;    lions. 

Twelfth  century  door  ;  inscribed  animals 
and  birds  from  the  Bestiaries  with 
others. 

Norman  font  ;  doves  with  calf  of  S.  Luke. 

Twelfth  century     door ;     fox,     panther, 

eagle,    hyena,   caladrius,   all   inscribed 

in  Latin,  and  other  animals. 
Ship  representing  story  of    whale,  tero- 

bolem  and  dragon. 
Fox,     panther,     eagle,     Hyena     (vulpis, 

panther  a,  ala,  hiena),  and  Agnus  Dei. 
Two   people   in   ship,    inscribed   Aspido, 

and    representing    whale ;      mutilated 

lion,   etc. 
Norman    capital    in    cottage    wall  ;     the 

Good  Shepherd  (?). 
Twelfth  century  arch  ;    stags,  lions,  and 

fishes. 
Carving     in     a     perpendicular     chapel  ; 

loaves  and  fishes. 
Saxon  sun-dial  ;    tortoise. 

Hyena  and  Caladrius  inscribed. 

Twelfth   century  capital    below   chancel 

arch  ;   S.  Peter  and  angel  upside  down  ; 

cocks. 
Twelfth  century  candelabra  with   cocks 

symbolising  S.  Peter. 
Perpendicular  bench-end  ;  pillar  to  which 

Christ  was  bound  ;    cock  of  S.  Peter's 

denial. 
Perpendicular  bench-end  ;  cock  and  hen. 

Bp.     Alcock's    chantry,     perpendicular  ; 

cocks. 
Norman   font  ;     Baptism  of  Our   Lord  ; 

Dextra  Dei,  dove,  etc. 
Perpendicular    font  ;      Baptism    of    Our 

Lord  ;    dove  ;    Dextra  Dei. 

233 


1 6— (2237) 


TABLE    OF    PHOTOGRAPHS 


3la 

Winchester 

T 

Cathedral 

3lb 

Do.       do. 

L 

32a 

Westwell, 

P 

Kent 

32b 

Forrabury, 
Cornwall 

P 

33a 

Do.       do. 

P 

33b 

Aldington, 
Kent 

P 

34a 

S.   Austell, 

O 

Cornwall 

346 

Beckford, 

j£ 

Gloucester 

35a 

Iffley,  Oxon 

T 

356 

Do.       do. 

T 

36a 

Kilpeck,  Here- 
ford 

Cx 

366 

Elkstone, 

N 

Gloucester 

37a 

Brookland, 

T 

Kent 

37b 

Kencot,  Oxon 

N 

38a 

Hook  Norton, 

N 

Oxon 

38b 

Do.       do. 

A< 

39a 

Brinsop, 
Hereford 

N 

396 

Newington,  by 
Sittingbourne, 
Kent 

P( 

40a 

Salford,  Oxon 

N 

406 

Ampney 
S.  Mary, 
Gloucester 

N< 

Twelfth  century  font  of  Tournai  marble  ; 
Legend  of  S.  Nicholas  ;  doves  and 
grapes,  symbolising  the  Holy  Eucharist. 

Legends  of  S.  Nicholas  ;  lion  and  doves 
or  eagles  on  Tournai  font. 

Perpendicular  poppy-head  ;  dove  and 
grapes. 

Perpendicular  bench-ends  now  part  of 
altar  ;  eagle  renewing  its  youth  ;  Agnus 
Dei.  [goose. 

Perpendicular     bench-end ;      swan    and 

Pelican  in  her  piety  ;    inset  in  pulpit. 

Over  perpendicular  South  porch  ;  peli- 
can in  her  piety. 

Jamb  of  Norman  chancel  arch  ;  centaur 
and  spear. 

Twelfth  century  south  door ;  centaur 
suckling  young. 

Twelfth  century  south  door  ;  centaur  or 
Sagittarius,  slaying  savage  beast. 

Corbels,  c.  1140  ;    eagle  and  grotesques. 

Norman  corbels  under  eaves  on  south 
wall  ;  centaur  shooting  arrow  at  eagle. 

Twelfth  century  lead  font  ;  "  Sagutarius  " 
and  Capricornus,  man  knocking  down 
acorns  for  pig  (November)  ;  man 
killing  pig  with  axe  (December). 

Norman  south  door  ;  Sagittarius  shooting 
arrow  down  mouth  of  beast. 

Norman  font ;  expulsion  of  Adam  and 
Eve  from  Paradise  by  centaur  or 
Sagittarius. 

Adam  with  spade  and  rake  ;  beast  with 
serpent's  head  for  tail. 

Norman  door ;  Sagittarius,  lions,  angel, 
etc. 

Perpendicular  poppy-head  ;    dragon. 


Norman  tympanum ;  a  Maltese  cross 
within  a  circle,  guarded  by  a  Sagittarius 
on  east  and  a  lion  on  west  side. 

Norman  tympanum  ;  griffin  with  arrow- 
headed  tail  curved  through  legs  ;  lion 
trampling  on  two  serpent  monsters  back 
to  back ;  serpents'  bodies  are  continued 
along  the  moulding  of  the  lintel. 

234 


TABLE    OF    PHOTOGRAPHS 


4la 

Kilpeck, 
Hereford 

416 

Barfreston, 

Kent 

42a 

Netherton, 

Worcester 

426 

Patrixbourne, 

Kent 

43a 

Patrickshow, 

near  Crick- 

howell 

436 

Selham, 

Sussex 

•14  ; 

Hook  Norton, 

Oxon 

446 

Smarden, 

Kent 

45a 

Beckford, 

Gloucester 

456 

S.  Bees,  Cum- 

berland 

46a 

Dinton,  Bucks 

466 

Alternun, 

Cornwall 

47a 

Brinsop, 
Hereford 

476 

Ruardean, 

Gloucester- 

shire 

48a 

Newent, 

Gloucester- 

shire 

486 

East  Meon, 

Hants 

49a 

Bridge,  Kent 

496 

Horsepath, 
Oxon 

50a 

Vowchurch, 

Hereford 

506 

Do.       do. 

51a 

Llangattock, 
Monmouth 

516 

Cobb's  Hall, 

Aldington, 
Kent 

Capital  of  Norman  south  door  ;    dragon. 

Twelfth  century    north   door ;     dragons 

with  one  head  for  two. 
Norman     tympanum     from     desecrated 

chapel  ;    dragon. 
Norman  south  door  ;    dragons. 

Perpendicular  rood  screen  ;  dragon 
devouring  vine. 

Capital  of  Saxon  chancel  arch  ;    dragons. 

Twelfth  century  font  ;     Sagittarius,  tree 

of  knowledge,  and  Eve  with  apple. 
Dragons  on  an  old  house. 

Tympanum  of  north  door  ;  Christ  rescu- 
ing souls  from  Hades,  or  "  Harrowing 
of  Hell."  He  is  plunging  Cross  of 
Resurrection  down  monster's  mouth. 

Pre-Norman  lintel  ;  S.  Michael  and 
dragon  (?). 

Norman  south  door  ;  dragons  and  tree 
of  life  ;  S.  Michael  and  dragon. 

Perpendicular  bench-end  ;  arms  of  Exe- 
ter, and  conventional  dragons. 

Norman  tympanum  in  north  wall  (in- 
terior) ;  S.  George  slaying  dragon. 

Norman  tympanum  of  south  door ; 
S.  George  slaying  dragon. 

Base  of  eighth  or  ninth  century  cross  : 
Temptation  of  Adam  and  Eve. 

Norman  tournai  font  :  Creation  of  Adam 
and  Eve  ;  the  Temptation. 

In  north  chancel  wall,  perpendicular  : 
The  Temptation. 

Fifteenth  century  glass  :  The  Tempta- 
tion. 

Seventeenth  century  screen  :  The  Temp- 
tation (Adam). 

The  Temptation   (Eve). 

Slab,  c.  1800  :   The  Temptation  (?). 

Overmantel  in  plaster  :  The  Temptation. 


235 


TABLE    OF    PHOTOGRAPHS 


52a 

Chithurst, 

Sussex 

526 
53a 

Llangwm, 
nr.  Raglan 
Kilpeck, 
Hereford 

536 

Lower  Swell, 

Gloucester- 

shire 

54  a 

Harnhill, 

Gloucester- 

shire 

546 

Dymock, 
Gloucester- 

shire 

55o 

Barfreston, 

Kent 

556 

Kilpeck, 
Hereford 

56a 

Nately  Scures, 
Hants 

566 

Hereford 

Cathedral 

57a 

Hereford 

Cathedral 

576 

Hereford 

Cathedral 

58a 

Stanley 
S.  Leonards, 

Gloucester- 

shire 

586 

Southfleet, 

Kent 

59a 

Alne,  Yorks 

596 
60a 

Upavon,  Wilts 
Thorpe  Ar- 
nold, Leices- 

ter 

606 

Canterbury 
Cathedral 

Seventeenth    century    Belgian    offertory 

dish  :    The  Temptation. 
Early    nineteenth    century    tombstone  : 

The  Temptation 
South  door,  c.   1140  :  The  true  vine  on 

tympanum. 
Norman   tympanum  :    Bird   eating  fruit 

from  tree. 

Norman  lintel  :    S.  Michael  and  dragon. 


Norman  tympanum  of  south  door  :  Tree 
of  Life  (date  palm). 

Twelfth  century  south  door :  Griffin, 
mermaid,  head  of  king  and  queen, 
angels  with  scrolls,  accompanying 
Christ's  glory  ;  Christ  has  no  nimbus. 

South  door,  c.  1140  :   Manticora,  etc. 

Capital  of  Norman  north  door  :  mermaid. 

Shield  in  Perpendicular  chapel  :  Symbols 
of  S.  John  Evangelist. 

Fourteenth  century  mappa  mundi  :  Pe- 
lican, tiger,  manticora,  Noah's  ark,  etc. 

Mappa  mundi  :  Phoenix,  mandrake, 
faun,  sphinx,  rhinoceros,  unicorn, 
salamander,  etc. 

Carving  in  south  chancel  wall  (Norman)  : 
Two  animals,  one  presenting  apple  to 
the  other.  In  connection  it  may  be  with 
"  The  Temptation." 

Sixteenth  century  font  ;    unicorn. 

Norman  door  :  Terobolen  on  south  door, 
Ship  and  two  men  in  it,  representing 
whale. 

Perpendicular  font  :    Sphinx  and  lions. 

Norman  font  :  S.  Michael  and  dragon. 
Photograph  taken  by  J.  Norman,  Esq. 

Capital  in  crypt  :   Animal  musicians. 
Photograph  taken  by  J.  Norman,  Esq. 


236 


INDEX 


If  a  or  b  is  placed  after  a  number,  reference  is  thus  made 
to  the  photographs. 


A  DEL,  49,    125 

Aldington,   158,  336,  51ft 

Alne,  45,  54,  57,  89,  102, 
117,  137,  210,  22a,  23a, 
236,  24a,  246,  27a,  59a 

Alternun,  466 

Alton,  57,  229,  96 

Ampney,  406 

Anstey,  203 

Ashford   (Derbs.),  33 
-  (Kent),  141,  36 

Aston,  62,  82,  lla 

Ault  Hucknall,  182 

BALE,  226 

Barfreston,  25,  30,  38,  73,  74, 

186,   203,   2a,   26,   56,   8a, 

416,  55fl 

Barton  Segrave,  49 
Beckford,  154,  126,  346,  45a 
Beverley,  46 
Bishopstone,    129 
Bodleian  Library,  90,  173 
Boston,  215 
Bourges,   101,   141 
Bredforton,   182 
Bridge,    158,  49a 
Bridlington,   129 
Brinsop,   174,  39a,  47« 
Bristol,  26,   203 
British  Museum,  30,  45,  54. 

65,   86,   90,   98,    110,    114, 

145,   150,   165,   198,  221 
Brook  land,  85,  37  a 
Brussels,   210 

CAMBRIDGE,  203 

Canterbury,     606 

Castle  Fromc,  109,  129,  16a, 

226,  30a 
Caton,  158 
Charney  Basset,  78,  166 


!   Childrey,  61,  9a 
Chirton,  25 
Chithurst,  52a 
Church  Handborough,    17a 
Civaux,  198 

Clifton  Hampden,  33,  5a 
Coningsborough,   173 
Corhampton,  266 
Cortona,   177 
Cotham,  158,  182 
Cowlam,   158,   182 
Cumnor,   122 
Curdworth,    166 

DARENTH,  74,  186 
Dinton,  165,  178,  46a 
Docking,  182 
Dymock,   166,  546 

EARDISLEY,  73 

East  Meon,  129,  158,  486 

Elkstone,   82,    154,   la,    \\a, 

366 
Ely,  46,  49,  122,  20a,  296 

FINCHAM,  26,   158 
Forrabury,  50,  118,  133,  137, 

66,  29a,  326,  33a 
Fownhopc,    1 8a 

GLOUCESTER,  Via 

HARNHILL,    54a 

Headcorn,  34,  3a 

Hereford,    34,    42,    57,     70, 

89,  94,  106,  153,  181,  191, 

198,    204,    lOa,    25a,    26«, 

566,  57a,  576 
Hognaston,  66,  85 
Hook  Norton,  153,  38a,  386, 

44a 
Horsepath,  496 


237 


INDEX 


IFFLEY,  74,  153,  19a,  35a,  356 
Ipswich,  33,   178 

KELLS,  126 

Kempley,  166 

Kencot,    153,   37b 

Kilpeck,  21,  38,  62,  166,  192, 

4a,  4b,  Ib,   116,  36a,  4la, 

53a,  556 
Kirkburn,   69 
Kirkby,  158,  169 

LE  MANS,   226 
Lincoln,  26,  162,  186 
Little  Langford,  34 
Llangattock,   161,  210,  5 la 
Llangwm,   157,  526 
Lostwithiel,   37,   90,   6a,   86, 

206 

Lower  Swell,  536 
Luppitt,  154 

MAGDEBURG,  226 
Meigle,   192 

Middleton  Stoney,   166 
Minstead,  21  a 
Mont  S.  Michel,  174 

NATELY  Scures,  203,  56a 
Netherton,    42a 
Newent,  48a 
Newington,  137,  396 
Nigg,  126 

North  Grimston,  106 
North  Walsham,  141 
Norwich,  141 
Nuremburg,  226 

OAKLEY,  37 
Oxford,  90,   173 
Oxhill,    158 

PARIS  (Musee  de  Cluny),  142, 

198 

Parwich,  66,  69,  85 
Patrickshow,  43a 
Patrixbourne,  426 
Preston,   13a 


QUENINGTON,  81 
RlBBESFORD,    134 

Ridlington,    186 
Rochester,  81,  97,  176 
Rochford,  166 

Roman  Catacombs,    10,    105 
Rowlestone,    118,   276,   28a 
Ruardean,    174,   476 

SAHAM  Toney,  141 

S.  Austell,  34a 

S.  Bees,  177,  456 

S.  Mary  Bourne,  166 

S.  Michael's  Mount,  174 

S.  Vigeans,   134 

Salford,  40a 

Saxmundham,     154 

Sefton,  34,  53,  122 

Selham,    162,    436 

Shalfleet,   78 

Shernborne,     113 

Shobdon,  53,  216,  256 

Shorne,    125,  306 

Siston,  166 

Smarden,  446 

Southacre,   141 

Southfleet,  62,  125,  216,  146 

586 

South  Wootton,   113 
Stafford,  74 
Stalham,    129 
Stanley  S.  Leonard's,  58« 
Stockton,  113 
Stow  Longa,  203 
Stretton  Sugwas,  74,  196 

THORPE  Arnold,   178,  60a 

Thurleigh,   158 

Tof  trees,  113 

Torquay,   174 

Tours,  226 

Tutbury,  34 

UFFORD,  141 
Upavon,  204,  596 
Upleadon,  106,  136 


VATICAN,  225 


238 


INDEX 


Vezelai,  149,  209 
Vowchurch,   161,  50a,  50fc 

WALTON,  29,  158 
West  Haddon,  26 
Westminster,  177 
West  Rounton,  153 


Westwell,  130,  215,  156,  32a 
Winchester,     89,     129,    31a, 

316 

Wirksworth,  65 
Worcester,  46 

YARNTON,  29,  la 


THE    END 


tinted  by  Sir  Isaac  I'Uman  &•  Sons,  Ltd.,  Both 
(2237) 


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